


Dearly Departed

by Ewonsama, Leven_the_Valkyrie



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Abandonment, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Parenthood, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-04-14 06:59:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 35,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14130612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ewonsama/pseuds/Ewonsama, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leven_the_Valkyrie/pseuds/Leven_the_Valkyrie
Summary: Axel felt like his life was spinning out of control when his wife left him and his kids. Balancing work and play-date drop offs, while making sure there's plenty time for snacks between, can be overwhelming on your own. But maybe the new guy in town can help.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I know I'm supposed to be on hiatus, but I wanted to write this with my friend, Ewonsama :) something simple for me to work on in the meanwhile I guess lol

"Hello Mr. Vin, this is Rikku from Happy-go-Lucky Daycare. I noticed that Marluxia hasn't been picked up at his usual time. It's fine if he stays longer, but I just wanted to touch base and make sure everything's okay. Call me back. Thanks!"

"Next message"

"Hello, this is Twilight Elementary informing you that Xion Vin has yet to be picked up. Please call us back as soon as you can regarding your child."

Axel pulled his phone away from his ear, staring at the device in his hand as he started his car up. Those weren't the messages he was expecting to receive, if ever. His wife was the one who picked the kids up when she got out of work since she got out around two hours earlier than he did. Something didn't feel right. The redhead scrolled to the bottom of his contact list until he found his wife's name.

"We're sorry, but the number you have dialed has been disconnected."

Axel furrowed his brows in confusion. That shouldn't be right. His phone was working so why wasn't hers? Pulling up the dial pads, Axel manually dialed her number.

"We're sorry, but the number you have dialed has been disconnected."

"What the fuck?" He questioned, glaring at his phone in annoyance. He tried a few more times before the feeling of throwing the device out the window came over him. He almost did just that until he got a call from his mother saying the school had called her. Was everything alright and did she needed to go pick up the kids?

"No, everything is fine. Yes, yes okay, love ya too ma." Axel sighed and pulled out of the parking lot while informing the school that he was on his way to get Xion. After which he called Rikku and asked if she could hold onto Marluxia for a while longer; the whole time his mind was racing with thoughts he hoped were wrong and hoping that the next time he got a call, it would be from Yuna.

Once at the school Axel quickly parked and rushed into the front office where he was greeted by an old lady with glasses falling off the bridge of her nose. "Hello, may I help you?" She asked, her voice sounding tired yet alert.

"Yeah, I'm Axel Vin and I'm here to get my daughter Xion." Axel spoke feeling just as tired as the lady sounded.

"Daddy!" Xion called, running around the office to get to her father after hearing his voice. "Daddy, what took you so long? Where's mommy?"

Axel chuckled, picked Xion up and held her in his arms. "Sorry, Daddy didn't know he was supposed to pick you up today. Mommy must be visiting grandpa today." Axel replied, hoping he was right for the both of them.

"I want ice cream." Xion giggled while Axel apologized to the old lady.

"I don't know Xi, have you been a good girl?" The redhead shifted his weight, so he could comfortably hold his child on his hip.

Xion paused for a moment, having to think about her day before she nodded her head.

Axel shook his head and was about to tell Xion it was time to go when he felt something, or someone, pulling on the hem of his shirt. The man looked down and saw a small child, looking to be the same age as Xion, staring up at them with big blue eyes. Axel placed Xion down, shifting so he was now squatting in front of the blue haired child.

"Does Xion have to leave now?" The girl asked while swaying in place.

"Aqua!" Xion exclaimed and latched herself onto her friend in a strong embrace. "Daddy, can Aqua come have ice cream with us?"

Axel rubbed the back off his head wondering if he wasn't the only one who had a child waiting to be picked up. "Sorry Xion, but Aqua has is waiting for her daddy to pick her up too."

"But, but..." Axel sighed, he really didn't have time for Xion and her puppy dog pout. They needed to go pick up Marluxia before Rikku calls his ass again.

Axel sighed again just as the door to the office opened again.

"Please daddy?" Xion begged as she clung to Aqua.

A soft chuckle interrupted the trio from anymore words or begging. Axel glanced and saw the newcomer walking toward them, figuring that the spiky haired blond was here for Xion's new buddy.

"I see you've made a new friend Aqua." The blond laughed, and it was like an angel had slapped Axel in the face. He shook off the feeling and stood back up.

Aqua looked up at the blond and said, "This is Xion."

"Hello," Xion said shyly.

"Hello Xion," The blond chuckled before he glanced at Axel.

"Ah, Axel. Axel Vin." The redhead held his hand out as he introduced himself to the blond. Quickly noting that the man looked a bit too young to have a child Aqua's age. Must have had her young.

The young man smiled up at Axel and shook his hand, "Roxas Dikers." Axel had to hold back a snort. What kind of last name was that? But Roxas seemed to be used to things like that, "Yeah, stupid name, right?"

"No. It's a fine last name. Sure has more character to it than Vin."

Roxas lightly laughed, "Nah, you have a better one than me. Anyway, it would seem that our kids have hit it off. I was worried she would have a tough time finding someone. You know how hard it can be to be the new kid."

"Glad my daughter could help ease your fears." Axel smiled fondly at the girls who were now talking to each other. "I'd love to chat, but I've got another kid waiting for me."

"Understandable. Aqua and I have to be going as well." Roxas replied.

That got the girls attention, "Where are we going now, daddy?" Xion asked.

"We need to go get Marly." Axel pulled out his phone and started to tap something into the screen, "Ah, Roxas, do you want to swap numbers? Maybe we can set up a playdate or something?"

Roxas nodded and pulled out his own phone. "Sure, I bet Aqua would love that." The two exchanged numbers and took their daughter's hands. "Okay time to go Aqua"

"Bye Xion, by Xion's daddy."

"Aww, bye Aqua, bye Mr. Roxas"

~X~x~X~x~

Children successfully picked up and accounted for, Axel pulled into the driveway of his home, "What do you guys want for dinner?" He asked as he opened the back door for Xion to jump out and started to unfasten Marluxia out of his car seat.

"Pizza!"

"Sketti!"

Axel sighed, of course they wouldn't want the same thing, "Well, let's see what's in the freezer and go from there." He carried Marluxia in his arms as Xion closely followed behind them. Axel fumbled with his house keys, his mind racing with thoughts of what he would find inside. Hopefully it would be to Yuna in the kitchen, making dinner with an excuse about her phone breaking and nothing terribly wrong.

But when he opened the door, it looked just like he had left it that morning. And it was quit. Usually when Yuna was left alone she would have the news on or something to drown out the sound of nothing. Axel always thought it was cute and quirky.

"Yuna?" He called just for good measure, only to be greeted by nothing.

"Mama!" Xion yelled as she ran passed Axel and into the house, excited to tell her mother about her day at school and about her new friend.

Axel set Marluxia down, the toddler wondering off after Xion to look for his mommy. As Axel went further into the house he was met with more silence. Every room he checked, Yuna was nowhere to be found. not even in his bedroom which looked just about the same save for the random thong on the bed.

The redhead, picked it up and sure enough it was Yuna's. "Weird." he muttered to himself. Usually Yuna had all her things put in their place, clean or dirty. Axel decided to be a good husband and put the clothing away before his kids see it. However, when the redhead opened his wife's dresser all her undergarments were missing.

"What the hell?!" Without thinking, Axel ran to check on his kids, just in case the panty thief was still in the house.

"Daddy is something wrong?" Xion asked as she pulled some snacks out of the pantry. Her big blue eyes picking up on her father's distressed expression.

The redhead shook his head, "No sweetie, everything's fine. Why don't you take your brother and go watch some tv?" Xion seemed to like that idea, and with a box of cookies in one hand and Marluxia's hand in hers, the young girl left the room.

With the kids distracted Axel went back to his room to see just how much of their things the pantie thief had taken. Axel threw open the closet door, only to find his suits, the dresser only held his clothes as well. He wondered into the master bathroom and saw the make-up that used to litter the vanity was all now missing and Yuna's favorite body wash was also gone, "What the hell?" Axel asked himself as he stumbled back into his room. He sat on the bed with his head in his hands as he thought about what could be going on. Either this perverted thief was a bit too obsessed with his wife, or...

Axel couldn't even finish that thought. There was no way Yuna would do that. She wouldn't walk out on him or the kids. There was no way. Tired green eyes looked up at the wall, where an empty space that used to house a family portrait now mocked him. Axel's heart shattered.

Maybe she had.

With no idea what to do, Axel picked up his phone and tried to call Yuna again, only to hear the same prerecorded message. Taking a deep, unsteady breath he tried another. After a few rings someone picked up, "H-hey mom? Something's happened and I need you to come get the kids for a couple of days."

X~x~X~x~

The officer frowned as he looked at the half empty room, "I'm sorry Mr. Vin, but there's no evidence of a struggle. Your wife must have left voluntarily. There's nothing we can do."

"What if that's what they want you to think? There's no way in hell Yuna would leave us. Our kids were her entire world." Axel ranted out, trying his best not lose his temper with the incompetent cop.

The cop sighed, "What about her parents? Maybe she left for a visit and forgot to let you know?"

"I called the in-laws before I called you guys."

"Well, all I can say is if she doesn't make contact within twenty-four hours you can file a missing person's report. Other than that, there's nothing more I can do for you Mr. Vin."

Axel groaned, biting his tongue to hold back the slur of fucks he was about to unleash on the copper. Either the man was lazy, or he didn't give a damn if Yuna was safe or not. Without another world Axel saw the man out before slamming the door behind him. He glared at the hall ahead of him before dialing Yuna once more.

"We're sorry..."

"Son of a bitch." Axel grumbled as he marched toward the couch and defeatedly sank on it "Yuna. where the hell are you?"

One last thought in mind, Axel got up, grabbed his keys and took a drive down to the nearest cell service department. If the cops didn't want to help him find Yuna then maybe he could track down her phone. Maybe even find out why the line was cut.

~x~X~X~x~

"I'm sorry sir," Boy was Axel getting tired of hearing that, "But she gave no reason for canceling her phone plan. She just came in a few hours ago and handed her phone in." The young girl pulled a familiar iPhone out from a drawer and handed it to Axel, "She didn't want us to buy it back or anything. She just said she didn't need it anymore. Since you're on the plan I guess you can take it back. But I'll have to go ask my manager first." She gave Axel a reassuring smile before walking into the back room to talk to her supervisor about what to do with the phone.

Not patent enough to wait Axel turned the phone on. He tried Yuna's usual password, Xion's birth year, but it didn't work. With a frown the redhead tried Marluxia's birth year, still nothing. Yuna's birth month and date. Nothing. Axel started to get frustrated as he plugged in random numbers that meant something to his wife. But he just ended up locking himself out for five minutes.

"Okay Mr. Vin," The sales representative came back with her annoyingly peppy attitude, "My manager said as long as you're okay with picking the payments back up you can keep the phone."

Numb, Axel pocketed the phone and walked out of the store. He didn't know how he did it, but he somehow made it home without any thought to driving. The redhead prayed he didn't cause any accidents.

Opening the front door, Axel felt his heart drop and his soul leave him. The house he worked so hard to make into a home for his wife and children, was now barren and empty. Was this what he had to come back to every day now? A cold empty space?

Axel wondered around the one-story home, not bothering to turn on any lights, using the full moon to help guide his way. Room to room, the man looked for any stray sign of his wife. But Yuna was meticulous. He couldn't even find a hair.

This continued until the sun started to rise and Axel could feel his legs start to go numb from the mindless pacing. The redhead finally gave in to his search and laid down in bed, not like he could sleep without another body next to his, or thoughts of what to do next racing through his head.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leven: Guess who's back with another chapter!
> 
> Ewon: Sup bitches xD

"Do you need me to keep your kids for the night or anything?" Roxas frowned as he rested on his arms, leaning closer to the miserable redhead on the other side of the picnic table, "Aqua wanted Xion to sleep over soon anyway. I don't mind watching Marluxia either. It would give you time to figure things out." He tilted his head to the side as he studied Axel. This was their first-time meeting since the day they met at the school, and Roxas couldn't figure out why the man was telling him all of this.

Axel just shook his head, "No, its fine. It's been almost four days. They're probably eager to leave my mom's place get back home. And if I haven't heard back from Yuna at this point, then I need to just accept the fact that she's not coming back. I need to figure out a way to tell the kids too. Xion keeps asking about her mom and I don't know how to answer her."

Roxas gave Axel a small smile. Nobody should have to tell their child that their parent just abandoned them. Maybe not in those exact words, but the point is still there. Blue eyes wondered over to the children at play. The smiles on both Xion and Marluxia's broke his heart. He wondered if there was some way he could help Axel break the ice.

Axel let out a long sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose in thought. He asked his own mother on her thoughts and she said just to tell them that their mother went away on a long vacation. Hell, he even asked his in-laws, whom were still in doubt that that their daughter would just up and leave. They were no help what so ever seen as how they were blaming Axel for her disappearance. Something about her being unhappy with him. Yeah, like that wasn't a low blow to the heart.

"Maybe," Roxas began to speak after a few minutes of silences passed between the two of them.

"Huh?"

"Maybe, you should tell them the truth. I know that's not going to be easy but it's better than lying about it. Just tell Xion you don't know where her mother went but she loves her very much. if she asks you why she left, tell her that her mother wanted to travel. It might be a lie, or it might not. I'm sorry to say that's all I can come up with. But I hope it helps you think of something to tell her?"

Axel gave the blond a weak smile, "Yeah. That might work. Thanks." The older man reached over and put his hand over Roxas's. The two locked eyes for a moment.

Roxas was the first to look away and towards the children, "Umm…Axel?" He pulled his hand away so he could point towards the sandbox, "Marluxia's trying to take his pants off."

"Huh? Oh shit!" The older man shot out of his seat and rushed over to his son, who managed to kick his pants off and was now working on his pull-up, "Marly you need to learn to keep your clothes on." He tried to reason as the two-year-old cried out his frustrations, making the two girls giggle. But the toddler wasn't having it and wouldn't stop fussing. With a sigh of defeat, Axel reached into his back pocket and pulled out his phone, "I swear they're spoiled." He laughed as he set the airplane mode and booted up a mindless game for the young child to play. With a coo Marluxia took the phone, any wants to be nude completely gone, giving Axel a chance to sit back down.

"Not spoiled. He just really knows what he wants." Roxas laughed at the father and son, "But he's cute so he can get away with it."

"Don't say that too loud or you'll give him ideas." Axel grinned down at the pinkette who was fully immersed in his game.

Roxas hummed in agreement. He looked over to check on the girls, happy to see they were giggling and playing on the swings, "So what are you going to do about work and the kids? You work a nine to five job, right?'

"I talked to Marly's daycare and set up his new pick up time for when I get out. As for Xion," Axel frowned, "I told her she'd have to stay at the school for a late pick-up, but she's not happy about it. She wants to be out of there the moment school ends."

Roxas bit his lip in thought, "The other day I was running a bit late from work because the person who had to relieve me pulled a no-show, but I normally get out before three. I can take Xion with me when I get Aqua."

"Thanks for the offer but I think I'll just have their grandma get them when I can't. Besides, I wouldn't want to trouble you with something small like this." Axel chuckled, gathering Marulxia's clothes before the toddler noticed a thing.

"Daddy, can Aqua spend the night?" Xion asked, running up to the redhead before he could go back to talking to Roxas properly. Axel froze for a moment, not expecting Xion to appear in front of him like she did. A sleepover wouldn't be out of the question but as things where right now, he didn't know if it was a good idea or not. For one thing, Axel could barely handle the two kids he already had. He didn't know how he'd be able to handle another child in the house, especially when Yuna was no longer there.

On the other, having Aqua there for Xion could be a good distraction and give him more time to think about what he was going to tell the about her mother. Then there was Roxas. Even if Axel said yes, Aqua still needed permission from the blond whether she could go or not. It's not like they were strangers now, right? Who knew such a simple request would give Axel such a headache. He really wished Yuna was there to make things easier.

How in the hell was he going to handle being a single parent? Was he a single parent now? The thought alone made his heart sore and his headache even bigger than it had been.

"Daddy?" Xion questioned a little worried the answer would be no.

"Xion," Roxas said softly, gaining the girl's attention just as Aqua wondered up beside her. "How about, instead of a sleep over tonight, you have one over the weekend. That way you and Aqua don't have to go to school the next day. It'll be a lot more fun too."

The blond's smile was infectious. Within the seconds both girls where smiling from ear to ear from the idea of not having to go to school. They began to whisper about staying up late, pillow fights, and putting make up on Marulxia when Axel wasn't looking.

Hearing that Roxas had no problem with the idea of a sleepover released a bit of tension from the redhead's brain. Axel smiled over at Roxas, whispering his thanks before speaking to the giggling girls. "Xion, I never said yes or no." He teased, causing the girl to pout. Axel reached out and ruffled her hair, chucking when Xion tried to swat his hand away. "Seeing as how Roxas is okay with it, then I guess I'm okay with it too."

"Thanks daddy and Mister Roxas!" Xion squealed as she and Aqua ran back to the swings to make plans for the weekend.

Axel bounced Marluxia on his leg and pinched at chubby cheeks, successfully irritating the child. Blue eyes rushed away from the screen to glare daggers at his father. Axel laughed as he continued to harass his child. Usually Yuna would be on him for teasing the kids. But now Yuna wasn't here to stop him, much to Marluxia's displeasure.

And just like that Axel dropped his hands. Depression washed over the redhead. Apparently, his dejected look was obvious.

"Hey," Roxas called to get the older man's attention, "You okay?" He tilted his head to the side in confusion as he studied Axel.

"Y-yeah. Just thinking a bit too hard." Axel took his phone off of Marluxia and put the boy on the ground, so he could go play with his sister again, "Just really need a drink right now." He admitted once the toddle was out of ear shot. Not that he would have known what that was.

"You know drinking will only numb what's bothering you." Roxas tried to inform the redhead without sounding like a dick.

Axel snorted and waved his hand dismissively. "Yeah well, numbing sounds good right now. Too bad it's too late to get a sitter, ya know? Would have been nice to have a drinking buddy."

"Oh, and who did you have in mind for that?" Roxas smirked.

Axel chuckled, "Oh just some dude I recently met. Seems nice and I hear he's good with kids. A bit on the short side but cool enough to drink with. You wouldn't know him though."

"So, there's some competition in your best friend spot. I see how it is." Roxas laughed for a moment before leaning back from the table, eyes drifting away for a moment before going back to the redhead, "He'd be a better drinker than me though." He mumbled more to himself than to Axel.

Axel couldn't help but laugh. Best friend huh? He hadn't had one of those since before Xion was born. At least he knew Roxas wanted to be friends outside the whole play date thing. "Mm, wouldn't know. I haven't gone drinking with him yet. I was thinking of asking him over and just hang out while the kids sleep."

Roxas gently shook his head, "On a school night? After we just told the kids no sleep overs until the weekend?" The blond couldn't help but laugh at Axel's dumbfounded look, "Maybe on Friday. But we have to keep it at your place. I'm kind of not legal yet. Can't get into bars."

"Not legal...how old are you?" Axel asked flabbergasted.

Roxas laughed again, nodding his head to confirm the underage thing. "Well, how old did you think I was?"

"Old enough to drink that's for sure." Axel glanced away awkwardly. He sure didn't look old enough, but some people have a baby face they can't help. "Uh, no that's not it. I just thought, well with Aqua and all I'd thought you'd be older."

Roxas glanced away trying to hide his embarrassment from the redhead. He wasn't wrong to think he'd be older, the blond supposed. "I'm twenty. I'm technically legal but not legal enough to go to a bar. If that makes any sense at all."

Axel hummed at that and crossed his arms, "Damn, so you were about fifteenth when you had Aqua?" The man sounded amazed. He didn't start a family with Yuna until he was twenty, and even then, he still felt like he was too young to have kids. He couldn't imagine having Xion when he was still in high school.

Roxas chuckled nervously. Not what he expected but then again how could he not? "Well-"

"Wahhhhhhhhhhh! Mommy!" Cried Xion, interrupting the two adults as she cried while holding he knee.

Axel jumped off the bench and rushed to his daughter's side, "What's wrong sweetie?" The man knelt next to the girl to study her knee. Xion sniffed as she clung to the limb, "I...I triiiped." She wiped away some tears, "It hurts. I want mommy."

The pang in Axel's heart was just something he had to push down. He almost forgot about his little problem while talking with Roxas.

With a heavy heart Axel removed Xion's hands to check her knee. There was a small scrape, hardly anything worth crying over but to a five year it was like the end of the world. The redhead leaned down and kissed the wound just as Yuna had always done in the past. He just hoped Xion would accept the replacement. "Better?"

Xion sniffled and gazed at her knee. She shook her head and began to cry again. "Wahhhhhhhhhhh mommy! Wahhhhhhhhhhh."

That of course started to make Marluxia cry and point at Xion's scrape. "Wahh!"

"Here, try this." Roxas was at Axel's side in a moment, his backpack in hand. The blond fished around in the bag for a moment before producing a small box of band-aids. He pulled one out and put it on the small scrape, "There, all better."

Xion sniffed one more time as she rubbed the Disney Princess design, "I guess." She mumbled as she wiped away a stray tear.

"No fair!" Aqua pouted, "Those are mine. I want one too." She crossed her arms over her chest. With a sigh, Roxas pulled another one out of the box and stuck it to the back of the girl's hand.

"Want." Marluxia tugged at Axel's shirt sleeve and pointed to the band-aid on Aqua's hand.

Axel frowned down at his son and was about to say no, he didn't want Roxas wasting his band-aids on his kids for no reason, but before he could say anything, Roxas had already placed one on the boy's check.

"There, now all of you are all better and healthy." The blond patted the toddler on the head.

"Thank you." Axel whispered to Roxas, picking Marluxia up into his arms.

"Anytime. I've learned too always keep some spares just in case." Roxas lightly laughed.

Axel gave a weak smile. Yuna was always the prepared one and always knew how to stop a tantrum before it could start, "Well maybe some time you can give me a lesson on how to parent. I have no idea what I'm doing."

"I think you'll do fine. It won't take you long to get the hang of it." Roxas said, glancing at his wrist. "I'd love to keep this play date going but I gotta start heading home. It was nice talking to you Axel." The blond stuck out his hand to which Axel shook.

"Yeah, you too. Come on Xion, it's time to say good bye."

"Noooooo." Xion whined, clinging to Aqua.

"I don't want to go!" Aqua cried back as she clung to her new best friend, "Can we please keep playing, Roxas?"

"Sorry sweetie, but it's time to go home and do homework. You two will see each other tomorrow in class." The blond tried to reason with the small girl.

Aqua pouted, but let go of Xion and grabbed Roxas's hand, "Okay."

Meanwhile Axel had gathered up his diaper bag and Marluxia, "Come on Xion!" He called, getting the girl's attention.

"Coming daddy! Bye Aqua! Bye Mr. Roxas!" Xion waved as she walked backwards towards Axel. Not quite ready to leave.

Axel sighed, took the girls hand and walked her towards the car. New thoughts racing in his head while he got his kids seated and bulked up. He wondered, why did Aqua call Roxas by his name instead of dad or something related to that. With a shrug of his shoulders Axel got in the car and drove home, not at all looking forward to having a talk with Xion before bedtime.

Xxxxx

A few hours after being home Axel was just about ready to pass out. He had ordered pizza for dinner that night, so he could help Xion with her homework without worrying about what to feed the kids. Marluxia on the other hand was making things a bit difficult. With tv not being enough of a distraction for the toddler, Marluxia took it upon himself to strip down and start running around the house, nearing peeing in the hallway.

During bath time the boy decided to pull and yank at Axel's hair, slashing soap into the man's eyes as he did so. Meanwhile Xion had gotten into the ice cream and made a mess of the kitchen. She claimed that her mother said she could have if she was a good a girl. The self-proclaimed good girl was washed up and sent to bed right after.

As soon as Axel had finally gotten Marluxia settled down the man decided he couldn't wait for the weekend to drink. He needed one now and he didn't care what it was just as long as it helped him relax from this nightmare of a day.

Finding Yuna's small stash of "secret mommy juice", Axel settled down at the kitchen table and poured himself a nice big glass. His laptop sat in front of him. Numbers displayed on the Excel spread sheet. He needed to finish his work before meeting with his boss tomorrow afternoon. Just another stress factor to pile onto the shit stack he now called life.

Within a few hours Axel had finished up his work and finished off two bottles of wine. He was feeling pretty good right about now. His muscles were loose, and his headache was finally gone. With both kids sound asleep, the man had an idea.

It had been almost two weeks since Axel had gotten any from Yuna. Plus, the few days she had been missing. Needless to say, the redhead was a bit backed up. Looking through the kitchen doorway and into the dark hallway, Axel confirmed the kids were still asleep.

With a devilish grin, Axel opened a new tab on his laptop and typed in a familiar web address.

With a zip of his fly and the snap of his button, Axel pulled himself free from the confinement of his pants. It didn't take him long to find something of interest. A man and a woman going at it on the kitchen table set the mood just right for. Axel began to pant and groan from the pressure his hand had on his dick. He didn't even remember the last time he actually masturbated. Yuna was always willing if not a little forceful herself on nights just like this. He was beginning to think she was just using him to relieve her own stress. Not that he had a problem with it.

His attention was grabbed from the thought of his wife and to the woman who had been thrown down on the table. A large cock diving into her from behind. The moans coming from the pornstar made Axel groan with want as his hand sped up. So close.

"Wahhh!"

Axel let out another groan but this time in frustration. Marluxia was crying. That's just what he needed right now. He was so close, but the cries of his son began to make his hard-on soften. "Damn it." He muttered, tucking himself back in and washing his hands before going to check on his child.

"What's wrong Marly?" Axel questioned trying to hide his exhaustion from the toddler.

" !" The child cried beginning to scream his off from his missing plushie."

"Mr. SquishyBunnyButt?" Axel asked in a dazed and confused voice. He had almost forgotten about his child's favorite toy. The one he could never sleep without, "Did you drop him?"

The redhead began to look around the room, only to find the plush hidden in the covers near Marluxia's feet, "There we go bud." Axel cooed as he places a green octopus in his son's arms, "Ready for nightnight now?"

Marluxia sniffled, cuddling the plushie tightly to his chest. The toddler nodded and settled back down into bed, allowing Axel to tuck him and kiss his forehead.

"Good night Marly. Goodnight ."

"Well that certainly ruined the mood." Axel muttered to himself when he walked down the hall and back to the kitchen. The sound of moaning let the redhead know the video was still playing.

"I should turn that...off..." Axel froze in the spot, eyes widening in shock from who he saw near his laptop.

"Xion!" Axel yelled to get his daughter's attention.

Wide blue eyes wouldn't leave the screen. Xion stood there, frozen by what she had seen.

But the spell was broken when Axel came up from behind and closed the laptop, "What are you doing up!?" He tried to keep his voice even. No use yelling at the young girl and making her think she was in trouble. Its not like she intentionally went looking for porn.

The girl blinked, staring up at her father. "Marly woke me. I wanted water but then I saw naked people wrestling. I remembered you and mommy did that one time. Did mommy win of did you win?" Xion asked innocently and completely confused as to why her daddy was watching naked wrestling.

Axel felt his face heat up. He was glad the only light in the kitchen was coming from the laptop and the hall, or else Xion would be able to see and probably question him more, "No one won. It was a draw. Now go to bed. Please."

The girl pouted at the answer, but respected her father's orders and started to leave the kitchen, only to turn back and ask, "Is mommy ever going to come back from her vacation?"

Axel felt his heart absolutely shatter at the broken look his daughter was giving him, "I'm not sure hun." Xion's eyes began to water. Axel had to calm her down fast. He quickly scooped the girl up and held her close to him. Trying to sooth her.

"C-can I sleep in your room tonight?" Axel patted her back and started to walk down the hall,

"Of course, you can."

Axel tucked Xion in and patted her head. "I'll be coming to bed soon." He reassured her before going back to turn his laptop off. Thankfully the video ended before any more harm could be done. With a bit of embarrassment, Axel shut his PC down and got ready for bed.

"Daddy, do you think mommy misses me?" Xion asked in the dark, just as Axel crawled into bed.

Axel felt like crying at that point though he knew he had to remain strong. "Oh, I know she does. She misses you and Marly and loves you more than anything in the world."

Xion sniffled and shut her eyes. "I love mommy too. Night Daddy."

"Good night, Xion."

"Daddy?"

Axel rolled over to face his daughter, wondering why she just didn't sleep. " Yes?"

"What kind of vacation is mommy on?" The girl asked while staring up at the dark ceiling.

Axel reached out and began to ped his daughter's head, trying to comfort her as his fingers massaged her scalp, "Well, Xion I-"

God why did this have to be so hard? The man didn't know if he should listen to his mom's advice and keep lying or tell the truth like Roxas said to do.

"Daddy?"

Axel pulled his hand away from Xion, reached over to his night stand and turned on the lamp. He sat up, staring down at Xion who had crawled into his lap.

The girl's blue eyes were filled with tears, nose with a bit of snot dripping out. The redhead wiped her eyes, getting Xion to blow her nose as he held her close. It was now or never.

"Honestly Xion, I don't know. Mommy just needed space and had to leave. I don't know where she went or when she'll be back."

The young girl clung to her father's shirt, "So she doesn't love us anymore?" Axel could feel tears start to wet his shirt, making it stick to his chest.

"Of course not! You mother loves you and Marly with all her heart!"

"Then why did she leave us behind?"

Axel pulled her closer, rubbing her back, trying to calm her down, "Xion, mommy loves you. She didn't leave you behind…she-Xion please don't cry. Mommy…I don't know what mommy was thinking, but she left us. But daddy's still here and I promise I will love you twice as hard. But I'm going to need you to be a big girl and help me take care of Marly. Can you do that? Can you be my big girl?"

Axel struggled to tell his daughter the truth. He hated seen her cry because of Yuna. He prayed that she did leave because the idea of her being kidnapped was much worse. He hated both ideas however. He hated that she was making them go through this. He thought about telling Xion her mother was a selfish bitch but that would be going too far, especially to a five-year-old.

Xion never answered Axel about being a big girl and he was okay with that. They hugged, and both cried, one silent the other aloud. One cried to sleep the other took a long shower. It was almost four in the morning. Axel wasn't sure if Xion should go to school or not. Though Aqua would be there and that thought comforted the redhead. Xion would have a friend in replace of a mother. Hopefully that would help, if only a little.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading :3 tell us what you think of it so far and if there's anything you'd like to see happen. We might put it in ;)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leven: So this has been done for a couple of weeks now, but I've been in charge of editing and haven't been able to get to it until now lol Sorry. Next chapter hopefully won't take as long to come out.
> 
> Ewon: I currently and useless since I have no laptop. But enjoy the fic :D

The next day was just as how Axel expected it to be. Xion, was sleepy and refused to get out of bed while Marluxia made a mess of his cereal, splatting milk everywhere. Axel had his hands full that morning, dressing the kids, getting their teeth brushed, and hair tamed. At one-point Xion began to cry again because she wasn't getting attention while Marluxia was. Though Axel couldn't help it because of Marly pissed himself right before they could get out the door.

Finally, after a few minutes of fussing around, Xion and Marluxia were in the car and headed toward their respective child prisons. Marluxia was the first dropped off, being closer to the house than Xion's school. however, without knowing so Axel had caused the raven-haired girl to be late. This in turn caused him to be late for thanks to the stupid security locking up the gates only three minutes after the late bell went off.

It's enough to say that the rest of Axel's day did not go well. He almost snapped at his boss for asking him to stay longer even though the dick knew of Axel's situation. The man didn't have kids, so he didn't care what Axel's problems were. The redhead called up his mother to get the kids and he would pick them up after. God knew he needed a drink.

By the time it was time for Axel to get off his phone began to ring. Thinking it was his mother, Axel answered it without looking, tiredly greeting, "Yeah?"

"Hey, so do you mind telling me why Aqua suddenly has an interest in watching naked people wrestle? She said she and Xion want to watch it during the sleep over." Roxas questioned, a little flustered and annoyed by the idea.

Axel groaned as he resisted the urge to bash his head through his car door window, "To be completely blunt. Xion found my porn."

"Maybe you should do a better job of hiding your porn." Roxas chuckled. "I don't think I'm ready for Aqua to be exposed to that, so I was thinking that maybe I should join her in the sleep over. Instead of just coming over for drinks I mean."

"It's not like I leave it laying around." Axel groaned, "She should have been sleeping and I walked away from my laptop for a moment. What's a five-year-old doing up at two in the morning?" As the redhead ranting he suddenly remembered what Roxas had also added, "And you can stay if you don't think being trapped in a house with three kids would drive you insane."

Roxas laughed, "I'm sure we'll be fine. Aqua and Xion will probably play in her room while Marluxia tries to join in. Ahem, must not have been that good if you walked away from it. Anyway, I'll let you get back to whatever it was you were doing, hopefully not naughty."

"Nothing too bad. Just flipping off old people who can't drive." Axel joked as he started his car up and drove away from his job, "But yeah, being on the phone and driving is kind of a big no-no. So I'll let you go to find something naughty to do." The man joked.

"Oh? What makes you think I'd do something bad?" Roxas almost giggled. "But you are right, no driving while on the phone. I guess I'll talk to you later Axel."

"Mhm." Axel muttered, hanged up his phone and drove straight toward his mother's house. The one good thing about getting out of work late was there was no real traffic. At least in the direction Axel had to go anyway.

"Daddy!" Marly wailed, running straight to Axel's arms as soon as his grandma called them toward the door way. The boy clung to the man, his eye rims red and puffy.

Axel held and picked up his son while looking questionably at his mother. The older redhead frowned, letting out a heavy breath. "Xion told me what you told her about you know who. The poor thing has been a mess since Marly began to ask for her. Xion told Marly to shut up and that their mother wasn't coming back, and it was his fault. I have her in time out still."

"Daddy." Marluxia whimpered, hiding his face against Axel's chest. Axel patted his back, cooing at him and pecking his head. "Don't listen to Xion, Marly. It'll be okay. Hey mom, do you mind taking him while I have a talk with Xion?"

The women opened her arms up and took the toddler from Axel. Another whine escaped the child to which Axel patted his head and went to go look for Xion.

He found the girl standing in the corner of the living room, her back to him as he approached her. "Xion." Axel called causing the child to flinch. Axel groaned, ran a hand through his red locks slightly ticked off that Xion would do such a thing. "Xion, do you want to tell me why you're in time out?"

Xion shook her head, refusing to turn around in fear of her father's wrath. She knew very well that her grandma wasn't allowed to spank her, but the same rule didn't apply to Axel.

"Xion?" Axel pressed, tapping his foot impatiently. "I'm waiting."

Xion sniffled, slowly faced Axel, eyes glued to the floor. "I-I told Marly to-to sh-shut up."

"And?"

Crying, Xion shook her head again, not wanting to say anymore while her hands went to cover her bottom.

"Xion."

"I said it was his...his fault...mommy left." Xion broke down crying at that point, pressing her back against the corner, trying to keep her backside protected at all cost.

Axel rubbed his tired eyes, squatted down to Xion's level, and stared up at her. "Xion, why would say something like that? You know it's not true, so why would you make Marly cry?"

The child whimpered, "'Cuz Marly made me mad. I'm sorry Daddy."

"I'm not the one you need to apologize too. I think I should call Roxas and tell him there will be no sleepover." Axel felt a ping of guilt. He really didn't want to, but with how Xion's been behaving today what else could he do?

"NO! Daddy please, no I'm sorry, please." Xion sobbed out, her hands balled up in little fist.

"Xion, I'm tired. Go apologize to your brother so we can go home."

"But Daddy?"

"Xion I'm not going to tell you again." Axel said, his tone much harsher now.

Xion gulped and quickly ran to go find her brother. Axel moaned, rubbing his temples. The man got up, gathered his kids things, and wondered off toward the front door where he saw Xion and Marly hugging, both still crying.

"Thanks mom." He said to the older redhead.

"Anything for my baby boy." Axel rolled his eyes at that. "Now, go get some rest, you look exhausted. Don't worry, they already ate dinner and Xion's homework is all done. Are you sure you don't want to move back home? Your more than welcome until we can find out what happened."

"Thanks for the offer but as I said before, I'll be fine. Her parents are still bugging the hell out of the cops about any leads and pushing them to start a man hunt for her. I just wish I could do more. They'd probably stop trying to blame me if I did. Anyway, thanks again mom." Axel smiled warily.

"Bye grandma." Xion said in a small voice, following Axel out the door along with Marluxia.

The drive back home was quit. A few whimpers could be heard from the back seat, but it quickly died down. By the time Axel pulled into the driveway he found both of his kids sleeping.

"Xion." He cooed as he opened her door and gently shook her, "Go inside the house sweetie. You can go back to bed soon."

With a moan the girl stretched her arms over her head. Axel took the opportunity to unbuckle her and help her step out of the car. With one kid out of the way, Axel went to the other side of the car and started to take Marluxia out of his car seat.

Marluxia whined in his half-awake state. He clung to Axel, promptly going to back to sleep in his father's arms.

Axel carried the boy inside and straight to his room, settling him into bed. He then went to go check on Xion, finding the girl asleep on her bed, shoes still on her feet. Axel shook his head, went over to her bedside and removed the shoes before tucking her in.

"Night Xion." Axel whispered as he kissed his daughter's forehead. He hoped tomorrow would be easier on the girl.

With both kids asleep, Axel had nothing else to do. The house needed cleaning, but the man couldn't motivate himself to do it. Nothing good on tv either. Porn was completely out of the question.

The quietness that swept through the house sent a shiver down Axel's spine. He wasn't used to being alone. Yuna was always there. Even back in high school.

The ache that pierced his chest still hadn't left him since the day his wife left. And it was killing Axel. He needed a way to numb it.

Finding the hidden stash of wine again, Axel didn't even bother finding a glass as he sat down on the couch and began to chug it down.

Finishing the bottle off, Axel got up and got another. He should have gone to the market and got some beer, or maybe a bottle a of whisky. Something, anything stronger than the cheap wine Yuna liked so much.

After yet another bottle of wine, Axel was finally feeling more relaxed. It was time for bed. Though on his way there, Axel grumbled about how he wasn't going into work tomorrow and that his boss could just suck his dick and eat shit. That thought in mind Axel fell onto his bed, kicking his shoes and pants off. The redhead reached around the ground, picked his phone up and scrolled his contact list, clicking a what he thought was Yuna. He just wanted to hear her voice even though he knew it'd be that annoying auto record.

"Hello?" Axel didn't expect that.

"You're not Yuna. Who are you?" Axel grumbled, annoyed at the other person.

Roxas sighed on the other side. "No, I'm Roxas. And you're drunk. Go to sleep Axel."

"But I love you! Please come home." Axel once again forgot who he was talking to. "I miss you. Please come home."

"Axel…I'm hanging up now. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay...good night beautiful." The redhead said happily, dropping his phone as cuddled Yuna's pillow. "You're coming home." He whispered, shutting his tired eyes and falling to sleep.

x~X~x~X

"Daddy, wake up!" Axel woke with a start as Xion roughly shook his shoulder, "I'm late again! Wake up!"

That got the man's attention. Axel shot up, almost knocking Xion out of bed, "Whaa-ah!" Axel grabbed his throbbing head. How much did he drink last night? He couldn't remember anything, "What time is it?"

"It's time for school." Xion said running off to get her backpack.

Axel squeezed his eyes tightly and got out of bed. He grabbed his keys and headed for the door, along with Xion. Starting the car, Axel began to back out when Xion cried, "Where's Marly?"

"Fuck!"

"Don't swear daddy!"

Axel didn't listen to Xion's scolding's though. He raced back into the house to grab his son, not bothering to change him out of his old clothes.

"Okay who's ready for school?" Axel cooed to Xion as he buckled up Marluxia.

"Me me me me me!" Xion cheered. Happy to be going. Not for school, but to see her friends and play.

As Axel drove towards the school he dialed his work and calmly explained his absence. His son had simply gotten sick and he couldn't find a sitter on such short notice. Not because he had a mind splitting headache from drinking a couple bottles of wine last night. His boss wasn't happy with the excuse seeing as it was coming two hours after he was supposed to already be there but let Axel off with a warning.

After dropping off Xion, Axel called the daycare center explaining that Marluxia would be staying home that day. Said toddler was back to snoozing away in the car seat as Axel drove to store. He might as well get some groceries. Lord only knows when he'd be able to get that done. Maybe a twelve pack or two for later consumption. He was really getting sick of wine. Though the hangover he had was telling him no more alcohol, the redhead wouldn't listen.

After three tantrums and a pyramid of toilet paper getting knocked over, Axel finally made it out of the store with his beer and some food and snacks for the sleepover. Even if Axel said no to the idea as punishment for his daughter's earlier behavior, the redhead had forgotten to call Roxas to cancel and it was too late now.

Getting back into the house, Axel set Marluxia in his play pen then went back out to empty groceries out of the car. He was only gone for a moment or two.

"Really Marly!?" Axel groaned as he placed the bag on the kitchen floor. The toddler had somehow gotten out of his pen, took off his clothes (including his diaper) and went to the bathroom all over the living room, "I was literally gone for two minutes! How did you manage all of this?"

Marluxia looked around before proceeding to cry and blaming the monster under the couch. Axel felt his hangover coming back as his head hammered loudly against his skull. His anger snapped like a rubber band smacking you on the arm. "Damn Marly, go to your room and keep your damn clothes on for once. I'm in no mood for your shit today!" The man yelled causing the toddler to freeze in shock before proceeding to cry harder.

Axel grumbled, took Marluxia's arm and marched the child to his room where his diaper was replaced. "If you take that off again..." Axel paused, his angry features softening the longer he stared at his upset son. The redhead groaned, knelt down to hold his son and pat his back, apologizing to the child. "I'm sorry Marly. Daddy's just having a bad week. I didn't mean to yell at you."

Marluxia could only cling and sob to the man, still a little shaken up from the rage Axel showed him only a few minutes ago. Eventually, he calmed down enough for Axel to give him a kiss on the head. "Marly, I need to clean up now. Can you please be a good boy and stay in your diaper this time?" Axel pleaded with the small boy.

Marluxia nodded as he settled down, grabbing a nearby toy and started to entertain himself. With the kid's attention occupied, Axel took the opportunity to go back to the living room and started cleaning. It didn't take Axel long to realize that, for being such a small child, Marluxia's bladder could hold a lot of pee. The man had to take a moment to thank god that the floor was hardwood and not carpet, or else the pee would have soaked in by now and be impossible to clean up.

The redhead opened a window up to clear out the air. With that down he picked up his groceries, brought them to the kitchen, put them away, and made some lunch.

Once Marluxia was fed it was time for some mindless tv. Axel put a cartoon on and quickly passed out on the couch from how boring it was. He had no idea how kids could enjoy the crap they had now a day.

It didn't take long for the show to lull the man into a light sleep. But Axel's nap was short lived. The man snapped his eyes open, waking from the loud ringing of his phone. He prayed it wasn't work asking him to come in anyway. "Hello?"

"Hello, Mr. Vin?"

"This is him."

"Hello, Mr. Vin this is Twilight Elementary, we have your daughter Xion in the office waiting for you to come pick her up."

"Pick her up?" Axel pulled his phone away to look at the time. It was only noon, three hours before her usual pick up time.

"Yes Mr. Vin. It's half day today. Were you not aware of this?"

"No, I wasn't. I'll be there to pick Xion up soon." Axel said before hanging up. He groaned and got up, eyes wondering around the room in search of Marluxia.

"Marly? Come on we have to go get your sister." The man asked as he picked up his son in his arms and carried him out to the car.

Axel parked his car, letting out a heavy sigh. He was beginning to rethink the whole moving in with his mom thing. Who was he kidding anyway? He can't even handle picking up his baby girl from school on time. What kind of parent was he? Did he really depend on Yuna this much? She must have been a monster or something. Maybe a witch that casted a spell on the children and her day just to get by. Yeah that must be it.

The redhead got out of the car, taking Marluxia with him. The two headed towards the office when a familiar blond-haired friend walked into his eye sight.

"Didn't know about the half day either?" Roxas laughed as the two walked towards late pickup together.

"Not the slightest idea. Plus, Xion was late this morning. I should have just let her stay home"

Roxas showing a little concern stopped Axel from walking into the office with a hand on his shoulder. Axel paused to stare at the blond questionably. Roxas shook his head, saying never mind and took the lead into the office. There Aqua and Xion waited while talking about having a tea party. The pair glanced up and went to their respective parental unit.

"Sorry I'm late again Xion." Axel apologized and took his daughter's hand. The girl didn't say anything, just nervously glanced at Aqua and Roxas.

Once everyone was out of the office, Roxas asked, "So, what time is the sleepover?"

Axel shifted Marluxia on his hip so he could hold him more comfortably with one arm so he could hold Xion's hand, "Xion has to do her homework and some chores beforehand. So, let's say five?"

"But I don't have homework, Daddy. What chores?" Xion asked, tugging on Axel's sleeve.

Roxas let out a small laugh. "Okay, then I guess we'll see you around five. Text me the address later so we don't get lost."

"Will do." Axel used his and Xion's joined hands to wave good-bye to Roxas and Aqua.

After unlocking the car and getting the kids situated, Axel began the drive home, "If you don't have any homework then I want your room, living room, and bathroom all spotless before they come over. Okay, Xi? I forgot about calling Roxas about canceling as your punishment for yesterday, so you have to do chores instead."

"B-but mommy is the one that cleans. That's not fair." Xion complained

Axel gave Xion a pointed look through the rearview mirror, "Don't back talk me, unless you want me to call Roxas to cancel and give you more things to clean."

Xion began to sniffle and bowed her head. "Mommy." She whined quietly in her seat, silently crying. Not from the idea of chores but from Axel's tone.

"I want cookie." Marluxia randomly shouted out, staring out the window.

"I'm sorry, but you have to stop with this behavior. I know I didn't raise a spoiled girl. Your old enough that your mom and I were already talking about assigning you chores anyway."

"I want mommy." Xion sniffle again, curling up in a ball on her seat.

Axel sighed, he didn't need her crying now. Why was being a parent so hard? "Xion, remember when I asked you to be a big girl? Well, cleaning up is part of being one. Daddy will help you. I'll show you what to do alright?"

Xion raised her head, only to nod once before hiding her face again. Marluxia stared at his sister, at her messy black hair. "Poopie head."

Axel wanted to bash his head into the steering wheel as his kids began to bicker amongst themselves and trying to come up with insulting names for each other. Throw Aqua into the mix and it was going to be a long night.

By the time they got home Xion was in a better mood. She put her things away while Marluxia was told not to strip or he would not be getting a cookie. The boy listened, going to play in his room while Axel showed Xion what needed to be done. Of course, he had to stop what he was doing to help her or kill a random bug she found. It took longer to clean with Xion than it would if Axel did it on his own. He was just glad the girl was learning about responsibilities. It would help him the long run away.

While cleaning Axel managed to text Roxas his address. By the time the house was nice and tidy the doorbell rang. Must have already been five.

"Aqua!" Xion cheered behind her father's legs as Axel opened the door. Said bluette giggled as she rushed inside the house, Xion took her hand and they disappeared into Xion's room.

Green eyes blinked at the now two empty spots where the girls used to be, "They were fast." He bluntly pointed out, "Come on in." He opened the door wider for Roxas.

Roxas laughed, stepped inside and followed Axel into the living where Marluxia was now watching mindless tv. The pair headed to the kitchen and stood awkwardly.

"So, how did the little helper turn out?" Roxas asked just to break the ice.

"Oh, it was a hit or miss with her but as you can see, the house is clean." Axel chuckled, spreading out his arms in a gesture to the clean kitchen.

Humming in acknowledgement, Roxas walked closer to Axel. The closeness almost through Axel off but the redhead figured Roxas had something to say he didn't want the kids to overhear.

"Did you manage to hide all your porn?" Roxas asked with a small smirk.

Axel snorted and playfully pushed Roxas out of his bubble, "Nah. I proudly display it now. Or did you not notice what Marly was watching?"

A worried look crossed Roxas's face as he quickly backtracked to the living room, only to come back shaking his head, "You my friend watch some messed up shit. Why would you shame the Teletubbies like that?"

Axel smirked with a shrug. "Have you seen what they do when the baby sun goes to sleep? It a full-on orgy. That weird vacuum joins them sometimes."

Roxas rolled eyes. "Is that how people your age gets off now a day?"

Axel put his hand over chest as if in pain. "My age? You wound me oh tiny one. I'm only twenty-five. I'm not that old ya know. Though having kids makes me feel like I'm already fifty."

Roxas tilted his head to the side as he looked Axel up and down, making the redhead slightly self-conscious. After a while the younger man finally said, "Eh, for fifty you're not looking too bad. Just need to cover up some of those grays."

Axel snorted feeling pretty good about his looks suddenly. He guessed he needed the compliment. The redhead decided to be a goof and flexed an arm. "I knew I was hot. I'm so sorry for turning you on by my sexy ass self."

Roxas blushed, quickly looking anywhere but at Axel. He cleared his throat shoving Axel a bit so the man would put his arm down. "Oh yeah, I want you so badly that I can't contain it." Roxas rolled his eyes.

Axel chuckled putting his hand up in surrender. "I give, I give. This little game really helped break the tension. Hey, you want a beer?"

Roxas shook his head, "Kinda early don't you think? Let's wait until the kids are in bed."

"To tell you the truth I've been needing one all day. I would have been drinking already but I can't do that in front of the kids. Well I can't get drunk in front of them. But I guess you're right." Axel sighed.

Roxas patted his back. "Why don't we decide what to feed them for dinner and go from there?"

"I was just going to order pizza. Can't go wrong there." Axel admitted rubbing the back of his neck.

Roxas smirked, "Oh but you can. Your kids aren't picky eaters? Aqua will only eat plan cheese pizza. Even if you get toppings and pick them off she still won't touch it. Can't even do a half and half pizza. She says the taste travels while it's in the box. Or God forbid an olive rolls on her side."

Axel pouted at that. Pepperoni was his favorite, "Mine are pretty good with eating what's placed in front of them so I guess I lucked out. What kind do you like? I don't mind ordering two different kinds and a small cheese for Aqua."

"I don't mind any kind, though I do like eating meat." Roxas winked.

Axel nodded and pulled out his phone. "Okay so one cheese and two Pepperoni's. Does that sound good or should I just get one of each?"

Roxas wanted to face palm. "One of each is fine. I'm going to go check on the girls." The blond walked out of the kitchen and followed the sound of giggling.

He peeked into the bedroom and found the girls playing dress up. One wearing a princess dress the other wearing what looked like the costume for Black widow.

The girls didn't even notice the man spying on them as they played.

"No Black Widow can't wear makeup!" Xion all but shrieked as she dogged a wand of lip gloss, "It'll get smeared in battle."

"Nah-huh," Aqua countered, "She's too good of a fighter. Her makeup'll stay in place." Xion couldn't argue with that logic and let Princess Aqua put the goo on her.

"How are they doing?" Axel quietly asked from behind Roxas, making him jump, "Whoa. Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."

Roxas swatted Axel back to give him some room. The redhead stepped back with a laugh. "They're fine but I fear if they catch us here we'll have to let them put make up on us."

Axel was out of the hall faster than you could say dress-up. Roxas followed behind him, moving aside when Marluxia waddled down the hall and into Xion's room. The poor thing didn't know what he got himself into.

With the living room now free of any children Roxas and Axel sat back on the couch and proceed to talk about whatever they could, slowly getting to know each other better as they waited for the food to arrive. At one-point Axel talked about high school and how he met Yuna. He talked about the day Xion was born and how he was scared shitless that he'd break her if he held her.

Roxas talked about school and how high school was just okay, though obviously lying about how it really was for him. Now that he was in college things were different. He wasn't sure if it was a good different or a bad different. But he supposed it was better than now that he was almost twenty-one.

The pizza arrived, and the kids were fed. Axel however, could not stop staring at Marluxia whom was covered head to toe in makeup. The toddler didn't seem to mind as he nibbled on his pizza, smearing his lipstick in the process.

As it got later, the girls were sent to go watch a movie in Xion's room while Axel put Marluxia in the bath. Lucky Roxas didn't mind helping him out. This time Axel didn't get soap anywhere but on the toddler. Having to two people made it a lot easier. How did Yuna do this alone almost every night?

"Thanks for the help." Axel whispered as he tucked Marluxia into bed, "You really didn't have to."

Roxas smiled down at the tired child, "Your welcome. It looked like you could use the help once Marly got ahold of his toys. Whose idea was it to leave a water gun in there?"

"I have no idea where he got the thing because it wasn't in there the last time he had a bath. I'm going to need take out those toys before his next one." Axel yawned, checking in on the girls before almost heading to bed.

"Tired?" Roxas tapped Axel's shoulder, getting the man's attention. Axel blinked a couple times, realizing he forgot Roxas wasn't a member of the house hold. Maybe he was that tired.

"Sorry, it's been a long week. Let's go get a couple beers and watch something stupid."

Axel grinned and guided Roxas back to the kitchen where the beers were. Roxas protested that Axel should just go to bed. But the redhead insisted they at least have two beers before the night was out. Not able to come up an argument Roxas took a few bottles in his arms and carried them to the living room, placing the bottles next to the couch with Axel following right behind him more beer.

"Are you going to drink all that?" Laughed Roxas, watching Axel struggle to put his arm full down. The blond took a few from the redhead and soon Axel was able to join him on the couch, bottle in hand.

"Whatever's not finished we can just put away." Axel shrugged and opened his first bottle.

Roxas opened his own bottle, "Cheers!" He forced his bottle to clink against Axel's, making the redhead spill a few drops on his shirt.

Roxas held his breath as he waited for the other man to get mad at him. But instead he heard laughter, "Dummy. Warn a guy next time." Axel reached over to playfully ruffle blond spikes

Roxas swatted Axel's hand away, quickly drinking his beer. Axel followed suit finishing it off in no time at all. The blond watched him careful, eyeing the second beer in Axel's hand just as quickly empty.

"Hey Axel, do you remember anything from last night?"

"Hmm?" Axel gave Roxas a curious look over his bottle as he lowered it from his lips, "Last night?" Red eyebrows scrunched up in thought, "I got home late and sent the kids to bed a bit early and fell asleep soon after. Why?"

Roxas contemplated whether to tell Axel about the drunken phone call or not. He decided against it in favor of keeping the redhead in a good mood. No need to have a sobbing drunk on his hands. "It's nothing"

Axel shrugged it off, proceeding to drink his third and fourth beers while Roxas barely got to his second. The redhead let out a lot burp causing Roxas to choke for a second. "You okay?"

Roxas coughed and cleared his throat. "Yeah, sorry just wasn't expecting that. It made me laugh but ya know choke."

Axel chuckled. "Gas still gets you laughing?'

Roxas looked at his feet slightly embarrassed. "It's not that, it's just well...wasn't expecting it from you. I mean I know you're human but hahaha I don't know."

Axel ruffled Roxas hair again, noticing how soft it was. He wondered what kind of of shampoo the blond used. Without thinking Axel leaned over to sniff Roxas hair. Roxas froze but didn't do anything to stop the redhead. Instead he took another sip of his alcohol, pretending he didn't notice what Axel was doing.

"Smells like honey." Axel muttered to himself while moving away from Roxas' personal bubble. The older man finished off his bottle only to get yet another one.

It was clear to Roxas that Axel was planning on getting drunk that night. Whether he would have done so without the blond there or not, Roxas did not know. He hoped Axel wouldn't do something like that and he was only letting himself go because the blond was there to keep an eye out for the kids. Somebody needed to remain sober. Roxas felt a little disappointed that he had to be careful tonight instead of letting loose. Oh well, there was always next time.

"Are you doing okay there?" Roxas asked, placing his empty glass down.

"'M fine." Axel said after a few seconds. He frowned at his own empty bottle in wonder. "A few more wouldn't hurt. It's not like I can't handle my liquor. I'm not even buzzed yet."

Roxas could only hum in response. The redhead was clearly buzzed but Roxas didn't want to start a losing argument with his host. Instead he told Axel he'd be right back and just needed to take a leek. Axel grunted, got up and went to the kitchen in the meantime. He wanted something a little stronger.

The man pulled out some whiskey and a couple other glasses, taking back to the living room. There he placed the items on the coffee table and turned the TV on, putting some random movie on.

While Axel waited for his companion to return, he helped himself to a glass of whiskey, relaxing against the couch as he did so. He let his mind wander to the events of the week, feeling a weight lift from his shoulders the more he drank. This was exactly what he had been wanting to do since that day in the park. Just himself and Roxas drinking like they were in college. Though Roxas was still in college it was beside the point.

Axel felt at peace as he drank some more whiskey. He didn't realize Roxas joining him again until the blond took him glass away. "What're doing?" He slurred, trying to reach for the glass.

"I think you've had enough for now." Roxas chuckled, holding Axel's hand down.

"But it's making me feel good." Axel whined and tried to reach with his other hand.

Roxas rolled his eyes, backing up on the couch while trying to keep the glass away from the drunken man. Axel pouted and whined some more as he practically began to crawl on top of Roxas until he was laying on him. Roxas put the glass on the ground and poked Axel's head. The redhead shut his eyes as he rest his head on the blond's chest. "Comfy." Axel mumbled out, body going limp.

"Idiot." Roxas laughed.

Axel snuggled into Roxas's abdomen, "But your idiot."

Roxas tried to control his blush and heartbeat. Axel was drunk. He didn't know what he was saying, and even if he did, he probably thought Roxas was Yuna again.

"I'm not her replacement you know." The blond mumbled under his breath as he brushed red bangs out of closed eyes.

Axel ignored the comment, or rather he didn't really hear it all the way. Instead the man clung to Roxas like a child to a teary bear. "You smell good." Axel whispered softly, turning his head so his nose and lips were against Roxas torso.

The blond continued to run his fingers through Axel's hair, planning on staying silent while his heart picked up the pace. He cursed and told himself to just shove Axel to the floor. But he knew he would never do that to the man.

Roxas felt himself start to doze off. Between the alcohol that was coursing through his body, the stupid movie, and the monogamous movement of his fingers it took everything in Roxas to not fall asleep.

A shift of Axel's body startled the blond awake. Axel crawled up Roxas's body until their faces were level with each other.

"What are you doing?" Roxas whispered. He couldn't help the shiver that ran through him from those piercing eyes looking down at him.

Axel leaned down and pressed his lips against Roxas' own. The blond's eyes widen from the sudden assault. His pulse hammered crazily throughout his body. It had been so long since he had last been kissed that the immediate thought of shoving Axel away didn't bother to invade his mind. Instead Roxas slowly shut his eyes and allowed Axel to just be.

Roxas gasped as Axel suddenly bit his lip. Making an electric shock go straight for his groin. Axel took this opportunity and slid his tongue inside Roxas's mouth, making them both moan as their slick muscles danced.

Wanting Axel closer, Roxas wrapped his arms around the other man until there was literally no space between their bodies. Axel seemed to like the change as he bucked his hips against Roxas causing the blond to moan again in the kiss. The blond gentle yanked on Axel's hair earning a moan and another buck of the hips. His groin was definitely hard by this point.

Axel slowly pulled away, lapping at Roxas tongue and lips before leaving a trail down the blond's jaw to his neck. Finding his pulse, Axel nipped and sucked on the spot, sending bolts of pleasure throughout Roxas' body. "Mm." Roxas moaned losing himself to Axel's touch.

Axel's hands rubbed up and down Roxas' sides, fingers tenderly caressing his hips and thighs as on leg was brought up to hook around the Axel's own hip. Roxas moaned again from another thrust to his groin, the feel turning his brain into jelly.

Kisses moved down to Roxas collar bone, marking the blond there while hands moved under his shirt, feeling their way up his stomach and to his chest where thumbs flicked his nipples before stopping all movement.

Roxas gasped from the feeling trying to catch his breath when Axel paused. The redhead gazed down at him glazed over eyes studying him. Soon Axel's expression should that of confusion as his hands moved around Roxas' chest again. "Hey,"

"Yeah?" Roxas panted, face hot and tinted red from all the excitement that had been happening.

Axel took a second, lifted Roxas' shirt up, and stared at the flat muscles. "What happened to your boobs, Yuna?"

Roxas froze in place, eyes staring into Axel's own in realization as Axel kept filling up his chest. In an instant Roxas shoved Axel off him and onto the ground with a hard thud. Axel groaned and rubbed his head, glaring up at the blond. "The hell was that for?"

Without any words Roxas quickly got up and rushed out of the room and to the bathroom. Axel grumbled to himself as he got back to his feet unsteadily. The man grabbed a beer and shot it back. He sat back on the couch and stared at the wooden floor. He knew even in his drunken state that he would be sore in the morning from the fall alone. Axel looked around the living, staring at the walls with pictures of his family on them. He glanced to the sliding door that led to the backyard then behind the couch to toward the hall Roxas had went too. "I should go to bed." He mumbled before passing out right there on the soft couch.

Back in the bathroom Roxas splashed his face with cold water. He needed to cool down. The blond studied himself in the mirror. His hair was disheveled, and his neck sported a large hickey that was going to be hard to cover up.

"Get ahold of yourself Roxas." The blond said to his reflection, "He's married and loves his wife. You can't be doing this."

Splashing more water on his face, Roxas tried to reason with himself if he should just excuse himself and go home and let Aqua stay, or if that would be rude.

"I guess I can go out and see what happens." The man justified. If Axel couldn't keep his hands to himself, then Roxas would leave. If not he would leave and pick Aqua up in the morning. Going back into the living room Roxas found his host fast asleep on the couch.

"That's where I was going to sleep." Roxas pouted to himself. He could just go sleep in Axel's room, but that felt a bit weird. Blue eyes looked at the couch. It was a large sectional, maybe he could squeeze in on the other end.

Roxas got on the couch and as soon as he did Axel's foot kicked his leg. Roxas glared at the redhead, shoving the leg off the couch. This was going to be one uncomfortable night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. Review and tell us what you think :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leven: Happy AkuRoku day! Its officially midnight and the start of best day of the year!
> 
> Ewon: Enjoy!

Between the sun leaking through the cracked curtains, the sound of laughing kids, and the smell of something burning, Axel slowly started to wake up.

Wait...

Something burning? The man sat up with a start. Managing to bash his forehead against someone's chin. The clink of their teeth ringing in Axel's ears.

"Fuck!" Was muffled as the speaker was holding their hands over their mouth in pain.

Axel felt the weight of Roxas sliding off of his lap as the blond groaned on the couch. The redhead just stared for a moment or two not bothering to question why Roxas was on top him. Instead his mind was on the fact that the blond's eyes were stinging with tears. Though his own head hurt like bitch for more than two reasons.

"Oh shit, sorry about that-" Axel paused as the smell of something burning hit his nostrils once again.

Roxas pulled his hands away from his mouth, relieved to see no evidence of blood, "I think I'll live." The blond muttered. He looked up to see Axel's panicked face looking all around the room, "What's wrong?"

"Please tell me you smell smoke. Or else I'm having a stroke."

Roxas paused to smell the air. The foul aroma hit his nose followed by the sound of giggling children. He watched, for a moment, Axel quickly wonder off into the kitchen only following mere seconds later. The two easily found the source of the smell coming from the toaster where two little girls stood buttering toast and microwaving what seemed to be pizza.

"Xion," Axel grumbled, getting both girls attention, "What's going on in here?"

The small girl looked up at her father with wide, scared eyes, "We wanted to surprise you with breakfast." She said, trying to control the tremble in her voice

Axel ran his fingers through his messy hair, letting out a heavy sigh. At least they weren't using the stove, but what could they be doing to make burnt toast? Axel walked over to the kids and pressed a button on the side of the toaster to pop the bread out. The grain was almost black. Axel grimaced at the sight. "That's a nice thought, but breakfast is daddy's job, Xion."

"Aqua, how on earth did you two mange to burn the toast?" Roxas quietly asked the other girl.

Aqua gave the man a sheepish smile, "Same way you were able to catch water on fire the last time you made pasta."

Roxas gave Aqua a small glare before glancing to Axel whom was coving his mouth. The man was laughing at him. Roxas rolled his eyes and plucked Aqua away from the counter. "Go play or something." Roxas grumbled while the girl giggled.

Axel rubbed his tired eyes. He didn't want to clean up this mess, "At least the pizzas still good." He went to preheat the oven for the food, but a shrill cry swept over the house, "Or I can go change Marly."

"You go take care of him. I got breakfast." Roxas offered with an equally tired smile.

The older man shook his head, "After what Aqua said, I don't think I trust you alone in the kitchen."

Roxas scoffed at the remark. Why couldn't Aqua keep her smart mouth at home? Oh wait, this was his home, "That was one time and I've gotten better at cooking since then." Roxas pouted without realizing he was doing so.

Axel chuckled really wanting to say something but the shrill cries ringing throughout the house was enough to stop him. "Fine but try not to burn the house down."

"Daddy almost did that! Mommy was so mad she kicked daddy out of the house." Xion giggled at the memory.

Axel glanced away awkwardly, keeping silent while a smirk graced Roxas' face. "Really now? And you're telling me not to burn it down?"

Axel waved the blond off as he made his way down to Marluxia's room. He found the toddler standing on his bed, fussing with his dirty diaper with one hand while holding Mr. Squishybunnybutt to his chest. "Hey calm down, Daddy's here." Axel cooed as he picked the toddler up and brought him to the changing station to get a new diaper on, "Damn Marly, how is there this much poop?"

The child simply whined, holding his plush close as he got cleaned up. His butt now feeling clean, Marluxia tried to sit up before Axel could get a fresh diaper on him. Axel grumbled and wished his son was potty trained. Not that he wasn't learning anyway.

Five minutes later and a lot of Axel bargaining with his son to stop his squirming, the redhead finished changing and dressing Marluxia. The two walked into the kitchen, which Axel expected to be on fire or at the very least find some sort of sticky food stuck to the ceiling. But nope, everything was fine. The girls were sitting at the kitchen bar, munching on some pizza, while Roxas was at the sink cleaning up some dishes.

Axel set Marluxia on his high chair and gave him the small baby bowl of scramble eggs. The redhead went to Roxas side, noticing that his kitchen was a lot cleaner than it was a few minutes ago. "You didn't have to clean, you know."

Roxas rinsed off a cup and put it out to dry on the rack nearby. "Oh, I didn't do it alone. I had Aqua and Xion help me tidy up the mess they made."

Axel stared at his daughter in shock. Xion cleaning without complaint? No that had to have been a lie, right? "Xion actually cleaned?"

Roxas nodded as he finished up the last of the dishes. "Why is that hard to believe? Aqua likes cleaning with me so I just figured it was a kid thing or something."

Green eyes slowly blinked as Axel turned to face his daughter, "Where's my Xion and what did you do with her!?" He yelled as he pointed at the girl.

"Daddy I'm right here!" Xion giggled as she waved her arms around, "Roxas makes cleaning fun, unlike you." She stuck her tongue out at her father before going back to her breakfast and quietly talking to Aqua.

Suddenly Axel felt like he was being stabbed by a rusty dagger. Why did kids have to be so cruel even to their own father? "Well maybe Roxas should be your daddy from now. What do you say Roxas? Wanna switch kids?" The man joked while Roxas rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"Hmm..." Roxas looked at the girls as he thought about the switch off, "I don't know. Xion's a hard worker, but Aqua can do my make up pretty well."

"I can do make up!" Xion interjected as she jumped up and down in her seat.

Roxas nodded his head as he took that information into consideration. "I think they'd work best as a pair. How about I take both girls and you can keep the boy."

Axel raised a brow at the makeup comment but decided that Roxas probably just let Aqua put it on him for her own entertainment. "Hmm that sounds like a plan. I'll keep Marly and you can have the rugrat."

"Want Rossas." Marluxia whined, stretching his arms up toward Roxas. The blond couldn't hold back his laughter as Axel's face went from shock to heart break to just a complete pout.

"Fine, you can have all three of them. I'll be fine living alone. I'll have the whole house to myself and can eat all the candy I want too." The redhead crossed his arms as if that settled the matter.

"Nooo I want candy Daddy!" Xion exclaimed while rushing up to the redhead thinking she could have some chocolate.

"Roxas is your Daddy now. You'll have to ask him for candy."

Xion glanced over at Roxas with pleading eyes. "Sorry, Aqua and I don't eat candy unless it's for a special occasion."

Xion's eyes widen in fear. No candy? What kind of human being was this man in her house. The child clung to Axel as if her life depended on it. "I want to live with Daddy."

Axel chuckled, scooped the child up and gave her a tight hug. "But I thought you wanted Roxas to be your daddy?"

Xion shook her head, burying her face against her father's chest. "He's weird, I want Daddy!"

"I'm not weird..." Axel could hear Roxas mutter to himself.

"Well I'm glad to hear that. You're my favorite baby girl."

Xion pulled away and pouted, "I'm your only girl. Am I your favorite kid?" She asked with a tilt of her head.

Axel quickly put her down, "Uh-ah. I am not opening that can of worms. I love you both equally. Now go play." He picked Marluxia out of his high chair and placed him on the ground so he could go play with the girls too.

Xion pouted but took off with her brother and Aqua into the backyard where her play house was settled. Axel cleaned up the table while shoving a slice of pizza in his mouth. It helped take away the foul taste in his that lingered on his tongue. He wondered if anyone smelt it or if it wasn't as bad as he thought it was. Shrugging to himself Axel shoved another slice into his mouth before turning to Roxas who was tapping away on his phone. "Texting the girlfriend?" Axel questioned, noticing a while back that Roxas didn't have a band on his finger.

"Don't have one." Roxas causally said while shoving his phone back into his pocket. "Besides, if I did I'm pretty sure they wouldn't appreciate this." Roxas laughed and pointed to his hickey.

Axel stared at the mark on Roxas neck, eyes traveling to his collar bone and to the blond's face. The redhead paled. He didn't remember Roxas having those when he arrived. That could only mean one thing. But he felt like he had to ask just to be sure. "Where'd those come from?"

Roxas paused for a moment. The blond looked upset, but it could have just been Axel's imagination. Roxas weakly laughed and pointed at the redhead. "From you when you practically had me pinned to the couch last night."

Axel's eyes widen as the night before flashed before his eyes. Blond hair, panting, sucking, no boobs. "I-"

"Of course, you were kind of drunk, what with all the bottles you practically shoved into your system. But it's fine Axel, I honestly didn't mind it, though next time I think you should make sure it's actually your wife you're feeling up and not the guy you met a few days ago." Roxas laughed, walking towards Axel and patting him on the shoulder as he passed.

"How can you just be so chill and nonchalant about this!?" Axel pulled at the roots of his hair. He could usually hold his liquor and even in the few cases when he did have one to many, he never groped someone like that. Not even his wife. Unless she never told him about it.

Roxas stared back at Axel with a pitiful smile. "Because it's not a big deal. I know you didn't mean it, Axel. But," Roxas stared up at the ceiling feeling only slightly guilty, "I guess I should have pushed you away or something. So, don't worry about it okay?"

"I don't think I can't not worry. I practically cheated on Yuna." Axel moaned as he sunk into a chair. His green eyes zoned out on the wooden table.

Quietly, Roxas sat in the seat across the table. He watched Axel for a moment as he tried to think of what to say to the distressed man, "It wasn't really cheating." He tried, but Axel either didn't hear him or didn't care. "We didn't really do anything, and even then, you thought I was her. You didn't cheat." What Roxas really wanted to say was that the woman left him, probably for someone else, so who cares about something as harmless as a little necking. But the blond knew that would be crossing the line.

"We clearly have two definitions of what is considered cheating. Drunk or not, thinking you were Yuna or not. I fucking cheated on my wife! How am I supposed to live with that?" Axel demanded more of himself than to Roxas. The blond was single so why should he care? Why didn't he care? He was another guy for God's sake.

Sighing, Roxas got up and went to go stand by Axel's side. "Look at me." He ordered but when the redhead refused and started to mutter to himself, Roxas repeated himself. Axel glared up at him. "Axel, calm down. Sure, we could have different views, yours probably stronger than mine but the fact is it didn't mean anything. I get the feeling you'd tell her what happened and only you know what kind of women she is and how she would react to the news."

"She'd cry and never forgive me for touching you." Axel said with disgust which offended Roxas to some degree. "I still don't understand why you're so calm. If it happened to me I'd tell the guy off. If he didn't stop if punch his lights out."

"It doesn't bother me because I'm gay, Axel. It doesn't bother me because I know when something doesn't mean anything and most definitely because I was a little tipsy too." Roxas lied at the last part. He didn't feel like letting Axel know how much the blond enjoyed it at first.

Axel dumbly blinked at Roxas for a moment too long before saying, "You're gay?"

Roxas frowned. Was that all Axel heard? "Yes, if that bothers you, I hope it doesn't effect Xion and Aqua's friendship at all."

"No, no. That doesn't bother me." Axel shook his head, "But I hope you don't mind me asking...?"

"Aqua's my niece." Roxas quickly interjected. He knew what the question was, and he'd rather get it over with quickly. Like a Band-Aid.

"Your niece? Huh, this whole time I thought you were her dad. I feel stupid." Axel chuckled, completely forgetting everything else for the time being.

"It's fine, I get that a lot. But no, I'm just her Uncle. My sister and brother in-law died a few years ago. That's when I took Aqua in and decided to raise her myself. It's hard, but I'm learning as time goes by."

"I'm sorry for both of your losses. She's lucky to have someone like you in her life." Axel said with a genuine smile.

Roxas felt himself blush. "Anyone else in the same position would do the same."

Axel sighed, feeling a little better about his own situation. He didn't know what he'd do if Yuna had died, though disappearing was almost the same. At least there was a chance that that was all it was. The redhead got up and smacked Roxas back. The blond winced, glaring up at the redhead. "It won't be as hard anymore. You've got Xion, Marly, and myself now."

Roxas smiled at him. "Yeah well, it's the same with you."

"How so?" Axel raised a brow.

Roxas smiled at the man and said, "You've got us too."

~X~x~X~x~

Axel kept shaking his leg impatiently the longer he sat waiting in the small front room. The ticking clock over head was starting to get on his nerves as where the couple whispering and occasionally sending him hateful glares. The redhead wished he wasn't alone with the pair and that the damn door to the office would open already.

It had been a few weeks since the sleep over and though he and Roxas had become friends through the awkwardness, things still hadn't gotten better. In fact, Axel would say they gotten worse for him and his family.

Xion was asking when her mother was coming home whenever she wasn't talking about Aqua or how she hated cleaning. Marluxia seemed to be acting up as well. He was stripping at daycare now and even throwing things and hitting other children. Of course, Axel disciplined him but that only made the boy want nothing to do with him for a while. It was like he had a teenager in diapers.

His work life was also getting in the way. His mother had been getting the kids from daycare and school because Axel's asshole of a boss loved being a dick with a twenty-foot pipe up how ass. He kept giving Axel over time, which had nice pay but was not good for home life. More than a few times, his mother suggested that he should just move back home with her, so she could help him with the kids. Each and every time Axel said it was fine and eventually confined in Roxas. The blond told Axel that the women just wanted to make things easier. Eventually, Roxas suggested that he could take Xion with him and Aqua until Axel got out of work while Marluxia went with his grandma, whom had a lot to say about the idea.

In the end that's just what happened. Xion was a lot happier with getting to see her friend more and she stopped asking about her mother for a while. That is, until her other grandparents showed up. They of course told Xion that it was Axel's fault her mommy was gone. They didn't even hide it from the redhead either. Xion then began to blame Axel as well and would ignore him from time to time. With all the chaos going on in his life Axel barely noticed how much he was drinking until he had a lot of recycling. It didn't bother him one bit because he knew it was just to help him relax and get to sleep at night. Nothing wrong with that right?

Axel huffed, tapping his foot now while trying to ignore his in-laws. The couple was across from him in the small room waiting for someone to open the damn door. The trio had pulled their money together, after saving quite a large amount, to pay for a private detective. It would have been sooner but Yuna's parents didn't have the money and they wanted the best detective money could buy even if it meant getting Axel to help them.

"Would you stop tapping your foot. It's bad enough we have to wait, I don't need to hear you smacking the ground." Yuna's mother snapped, muttering about how annoying Axel was.

The redhead rolled his eyes, stopping his actions nonetheless. As the waiting went on for another few minutes, Axel was beginning to feel nervous. What would this detective find? Was Yuna alive and well and did she really leave them because of himself? Would she be kidnapped? Would she be...no, Axel wasn't going to finish that last thought. It has haunted his dreams for a while now anyway.

"Mr. O will see you now." The woman behind the desk called for the trio, breaking the unnerving silence. The in-laws were quick on their feet and headed towards the office before Axel could even stand up. Obviously, they didn't really want Axel there in the room when they spoke to the detective.

When Axel did make it inside the small room he couldn't help but laugh. The older couple looked displeased with their detective. He looked young, almost as young looking as a certain blonde. The detective's hair was unkempt in long brown spikes. What made his appearance worse was the fact that he was dressed so casually. No suit or tie could be seen anywhere in the slightly bigger room. Axel gazed about, noticing a window, the usual desk with what seemed to be an expensive looking computer with three monitors on the far right. In the center of the room was another desk covered in files, pencils, pens, and a few maps. Not to mention the plaque that only said "O".

"What kind of joke is this?" Braska demanded, snapping Axel back to the situation at hand. "We spent good money and I won't have a child running this investigation. I demand you go get the real Mr. O." The brunet behind the desk frowned at that. It was as if he was always being compared to a child and was getting fed up with it.

The brunet cleared his throat, sat up in his chair and said, "Sorry, sir. I'm Sora O, you're PD. My looks don't satisfy you, but I assure my performance will. Besides, have you not heard don't judging a book by its cover?" His frown morphed into a toothy grin.

Axel at once thought the kid was a cocky little shit. But if he could help find out what happened to Yuna then the redhead was going to keep his mouth shut on the matter. His in-laws on the other hand, they didn't seem to like the smart mouth detective.

"Now listen here!" Braska practically yelled, "We're paying you. Keep your comments to yourself and just find my daughter."

Sora kept on smiling as being yelled at by clients was something he had grown accustomed too in all his years of being a detective. "Sir, I assure you that your money won't go to waste. I take my cases very seriously. I will find your daughter, you have my word on that. Now, before anymore out busts," Sora chuckled, "I'll need some information regarding...Yuna was it?" The brunette questioned with a quick glance to the small file he acquired prior to the meeting.

"What kind of information?" Axel asked as he sat down in a plush chair. Might as well make himself comfortable. "Everything's already in your file. Name, where she was last seen and what she was wearing. All the boring stuff we already had to tell the police when we filed a missing person's report."

"Yes, and that's all fine and well," Sora flipped through some papers in said files, "But there are blank spots. Like if she voluntarily left; what would her motives be?"

"She wouldn't have any." Axel contoured with a raised brow. He didn't like Sora's tone. It almost sounded accusing and pointed at him. "She was happy. Plus, she would never just leave the kids without saying anything."

"Even the happiest people leave. Plus, who is to say she didn't resent having kids? What if everything you know was an act and she just got tired of playing the role of the perfect wife and mother? Are we sure she didn't wonder off and off herself? Are you sure she didn't want to get away, not just from the kids and husband but the parents too?"

"Now hold on there!" Braska barked only the be cut off by Sora continuing to speak.

"How do we know, if it indeed was a run away, she even wants to be found at all? You may not like what I have to say but I've seen many cases like this. In the event of a kidnapping, now that just leaves more questions to ask. You may find them boring Mr. Vin but when looking for a missing person every 'boring' question is the utmost importance."

"I can say without a doubt, Yuna did not leave because she was tired of being a mother and wife." Axel defensively said, "She loved the kids more than anything. And we always communicated with each other over everything. If she wanted anything to be different she would have said something to me."

"She would have told us something! We have a mother daughter bond. She even told me how she wished she could have gone to college, but she doesn't regret Xion, just her choices." Yuna's mother commented.

"Our daughter is not some common run away. I don't think she ran away at all in fact. She knows she could have just gone home to us with the kids if she wanted to leave her husband."

Axel felt his left eye twitch from how much the hate was resonating from his in-laws. "Yuna, would never do that. If she had a problem with me, any at all, she would have talked to me. Yuna is not the kind of women to just up and leave without a reason."

"So, you guys are telling me that we should be looking for a body and not a missing person?" The three people in the room looked like they were about to burst and argue with the detective, but Sora continued talking, "If all of you agree she didn't run away, then that has to mean she was kidnapped. And it's been a few weeks with no word from a kidnapper which would mean she had to have been murdered. I don't do bodies, just missing persons. I can direct you to another detective who specializes in that if you'd like his number."

Sora opened up one of his drawers and began to pull a card out, but Axel stopped him, "With all of her stuff missing, it is a possibility she had run away. I don't think we're looking for a body. I'd like to stick with you."

Sora gazed up into exhausted green orbs. Though Axel's words seemed to be strained his expression was telling the brunet to help him find his wife. Closing the drawer, Sora met Axel's gaze with sincerity in his tone. "All right, then if you're serious about this then you're going to have to answer my questions first. You and the in-laws. If possible, but up to you, your children too. I want to be as thorough as possible."

"We can't do business with you." Braska grabbed his wife's hand and started to lead her out of the room. "You write our daughter off as dead too fast. I can't trust that you'd give up just as fast once your fees are paid." And with that the angry couple exited the room, making sure to slam the door.

The room grew quiet for a few moments. Axel didn't know if he agreed with the in-laws or if he wanted to give the spunky detective a chance. Finally, he felt like he should at least say something, "What do you have to ask the kids? And my youngest is only two. I don't know how he could exactly help you."

"I'd like to ask them questions about how they see you and their mother as parents. If they saw or noticed anything different in their mother that you didn't. A child's innocence and bring able to say the blunt truth helps more than one would think. However, as I've said it's totally up to you, Mr. Vin." Sora explained calmly.

Axel sat back in his chair and crossed his arms as he thought. He didn't know if he felt comfortable with his kids talking about such private things with a complete stranger, hell he didn't even know if they would talk without him around, but if it meant getting his wife back safe and sound…. "Guess I have no choice." He finally decided, "But they're busy at a play date right now. We would have to schedule it around their schooling and my work."

"That's fine Mr. Vin. Just talk with my assistant on your way out. Now is there anything else you would like to tell me today?" Sora tapped on a pad of paper with his pen, leaving small marks on the otherwise empty page.

The redhead thought back on the day his wife left, "There was no warning. I got a call from the daycare and school saying Yuna hadn't picked up the kids yet, which is odd for her, so I went and got them. When we got home all of her things were gone. She never said anything to me about being unhappy and there's no evidence of an affair. That's all I can tell you."

Sora jolted that down as Axel talked, "Okay. That's good enough until I can have a sit down with your kids. In the meantime, I'd like you to write down hobbies your wife had and places she liked to go." The men shook hands and Axel was about to leave when Sora called him back. "I just wanted to remind you; I'm working for you, not your in-laws. If they're willing to make statements I'll gladly take them, but any leads or information I get will go to you and only you, not them. As such, you'll now be on your own for my payments. I hope that's not a problem." His dark blue eyes studied Axel's suddenly dejected posture. Almost like he hadn't thought about the money it would cost to do this.

Axel shook his head of all negative thoughts, "Yeah, no problem." He would make it work out. He needed to find Yuna, no matter the cost.

~X~x~X~x~

"...and then he said he wants to talk the kids about God knows what. I'm not sure I'm comfortable allowing him alone with Xion let alone Marly. And thanks to the in-laws I must figure out how to make the payments, but he's the best of the best. I looked him up in the parking lot before I came here. He really does have credibility." Axel drowned on as he lay on Roxas love seat of a couch, legs dangling over the arm rest. The man shut his eyes while running a hand through his messy red hair. "Sora, I really hope he isn't right about one theory of his. That's the worst possible outcome and I pray she rather hate me than be..." Axel paused not wanting to say that four letter word.

Roxas merely hummed in response. He listened silently to Axel ranting about what happened with the detective and the ass holes know as his in-laws. The blond didn't know what to say to the man, but he was sure Axel would be better off if he didn't say thing to him right now either way.

Roxas shifted on the ground, not owning an arm chair or second couch. There was the chair from the dining table but Roxas didn't like sitting on those. The carpet was enough for him. Plus, it gave him a good view down the hall of his apartment where two little girls were playing in Aqua's room. "Would you like anything to drink?" Roxas asked after a bit of silence.

"No, I'm fine." Axel mumbled.

"Okay."

"Sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry for. Besides, I'm here for you just like you're here for Aqua and I. And if I was sick of ya I'd kick you out." Roxas chuckled.

Axel chuckled, "You'd have to drag me off of this comfy couch first." He rolled on his side and hugged a plush pillow, "So soft. I think I could live on this without ever moving."

Roxas couldn't help but smile at his friend's antics. Even after going through so much in such a short period of time, it was nice to see him goof off. The blond silently wondered if this is how Axel usually acted with Yuna.

"If you're going to be living on my couch you better start helping out with the rent." Roxas joked back.

Axel groaned as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, "Let's see. I have an expired condom and five pennies. Would that cover my part of the rent?"

Roxas held back the laugh that wanted to escape his mouth. So, this was Axel's playful side? The blond liked it more than he should have but at the moment he didn't see anything wrong with that. "Hmm, I think if the condom wasn't broken then maybe I'd let you off with that as rent. However, since it is damaged I'm afraid you'll have to do better than what's in your wallet. Maybe you could be my maid, mini skirt uniform is required." The blond joked as he pictured the taller man in a French maid uniform. Roxas had to cover his mouth with a hand just to hold back his giggles at how ridiculous it would look.

"It's not broken! Just expired." Axel emphasized his point by waving said condom around in the air, "Here you can even examine it if you want oh Master Land Lord." He tossed it in Roxas' general direction and still managed to miss, making the blond crawl towards the discarded object to pick it up

Roxas looked at the condom before opening it up and blowing it up like a balloon. Axel watched as the thing grew larger and larger wondering what would happen if he filled it with water and threw it at someone. Roxas tied the end off and bumped it towards Axel who tossed it back, ignoring the feel of lube on his fingers. "Okay now it's a useless expired condom. Thanks for that."

"Any time." Roxas tossed it to the side, wiping his hands on his shorts.

Axel turned over on to his back, shutting his eyes. "How about I just trade you couches instead of paying rent? Mine is nice and all but Yuna is the one that picked it out. Looks over comfort for her." Axel mumbled suddenly feel sleepy.

Roxas stood up, leaned over the man and stared for a second. Tempted to draw on Axel's face Roxas left the helpless man alone to get the much-needed rest that had been building up as of late. "Guess I'll make lunch for the girls then." The blond said with a small shrug, making his way to the kitchen.

"Hey girls," the blond popped his head into Aqua's room, "Its almost time for lunch. What do you want to eat?" He asked.

"GRILLED CHEESE!" Both girls yelled at the same time. Roxas laughed,

"Okay, okay you convinced me. I'll come get you once it's done."

Roxas busied himself in the kitchen preparing the grilled cheese sandwiches for the two spunky little girls. He set the table for them and called the girls to eat not long after. The two came scurrying down the hall and straight to the table which held their lunches. "Thank you." They said together.

"You're welcome little ladies." Roxas replied, taking a bite of his own sandwich while walking back toward Axel's sleeping form. He decided it would be best to just let Axel sleep for however long he was going to. Though he was pretty sure Axel's mother would want to know where he was and why he wasn't getting his toddler. With that in mind Roxas careful felt around Axel's pants pockets, located his phone, and clicked it on. Luckily enough Axel didn't lock his phone, making Roxas' job easier. A few seconds later and the cell was making its designated call.

"Hello?" An older sounding lady answered the phone.

"Umm...Hello ma'am. I'm Roxas-"

"Oh! Axel's little friend. He's told me all about you dear." Axel's mother laughed as Roxas felt his face heat up. What had Axel told her exactly?

Roxas nervously laughed, "Yeah, that's me. I have Xion and Axel here and he fell asleep. If you wanted to, I wouldn't mind watching Marluxia as well."

"Oh, honey I don't mind having the babe here. I have half a mind of coming down to pick my two little nuisances up and get them out of your hair."

"Oh, they aren't nuisances ma'am, quite the opposite really. I've no problem having either of them here. That and I think my niece wants me to adopt Xion so she can keep her here." Roxas chuckled.

The lady on the other end laughed as well. "That's sweet of her. I do hope to meet you one day Roxas. Axel has said that you are such a good friend to him and my grandkids. It means the world to me that he has someone to talk to and get his mind away from what's happened even for just a bit."

Roxas felt his blush intensify, "I just want to help out my friend in his time of need. I know he'd do the same for me."

The two talked a little bit longer, Roxas finding out some embarrassing things about Axel that he made sure to mentally file away for later blackmail. After saying goodbye and hanging up Roxas went back into the kitchen to see the girls had vanished.

Roxas did a one eighty spotting the kids poking the blown-up condom near the sliding door. The blond inwardly groaned and asked the girls what they were doing. When asked why the balloon was weirdly shaped and slimy Roxas lied and told them it was for a school project he had to do. The girls poked it once more until Xion finally noticed her father sleeping on the couch.

"Lazy bum." She said, glaring at the man. It was then she recalled something her grandparents called him. He was a good for nothing useless bastard who only caused people problems. Xion, still thinking Axel was the reason her mommy left, opened her mouth and repeated the words while raising her hand to smack her dad like her grandma said she wanted to do a few days ago.

"Xion!" Roxas scolded as he pulled the raven-haired girl away from the sleeping man, preventing the slap. The blond knelt down so he was at eye level with her fearful face. "Why would you say something like that?" He asked.

Xion looked down at the ground, eyes darting around the floor, as if looking for a way to avoid answering the man. The realization that she said something bad became apparent and it only made her want to hide in her room, rather, Aqua's room.

"That's what Grandpa calls him to Grandma. And then Grandma says she wants to slap Daddy for making mommy leave." Her blue eyes filled with tears as she finally stared back at Roxas.

"That's not very nice and it's not true, Xion." The man's voice wasn't as stern anymore as he tried to explain. "It's a cruel thing to say about a man who's trying his hardest to care and provide for his kids. Your daddy's done a lot to make sure you and Marluxia are happy. And he isn't the reason your mommy is gone. He wants her back just as much as you do. That's why your dad went to hire someone to help find her."

"He did?" Xion sniffled all the while Aqua went to stand next to her tearful friend.

Roxas smiled, nodding and ruffling her hair. "Yes, he got a detective."

"Like Batman?" Aqua interrupted.

Roxas lightly laughed. "Sort of but without the mask."

"Batman is gonna find my Mommy? And Daddy got him to do it?" Xion glanced at Axel, her eyes burning with new tears.

Roxas scratched the back of his head. "No, not Batman but someone like him. Listen, everything will be okay. Axel loves you Xion and he just wants you to be happy even if you're mad him."

Xion nodded in understanding. "I love Daddy, but-but Grandpa says-"

"Your grandparents are wrong and just mad that your mommy loves him more than them. And they are grumpy because they are old farts who need their diapers changed."

"Ewwwwwwww." The girls said at the same time

Roxas nodded in confirmation, it was indeed ew. "You love daddy, now let him rest. You and Aqua can go play in her room now."

"Okay."

Right before heading off Xion pecked Axel's cheek and gave him the lightest hug possible so she didn't wake him from his sleeping beauty like state. Roxas watched the children wander off and down the hall. The blond got up, went to the kitchen and cleaned up the mess that was there after lunch was over. Feeling a little hot Roxas turned on the a/c wishing he could just strip down to his boxers like he used back when he was still in high school. Ah, those were the good old days. He supposed he could and just lay there in his own room until Axel woke up but what fun would that be if couldn't have personal fun in his room?

Roxas grumbled to himself feeling more annoyed that he hasn't gotten laid in what felt like twenty years when really it had only been a couple. Boy oh boy, he needed some relief. It really was too bad Axel was so committed to his wife. Roxas really wanted to have a good time with the man. He guessed his fantasies would be enough until he could get a one-night stand with someone else. Sighing to himself the blond put a blanket over Axel.

"Aqua, Xion, I'm going to take a shower. Make sure you don't answer the door for anyone." Roxas called out. Despite not liking how he was changing he could admit that he loved Aqua and she was and always would be the best thing in his life. Having Axel as a friend wasn't too bad either.


	5. chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Being tired and confused begin to screw with Axel's mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leven_The_Valkyrie: Ewon wrote and edited pretty much all of this so show their pretty face some love ❤
> 
> Ewonsama: So we had this chapter done but I'm a slow editor. Anyway, I hope you enjoy. Also shush up Leven you wrote it too

The soft sound of the a/c hummed throughout the otherwise still apartment. The aroma of sauce, spices, and bread was still floating around the room as the left-over spaghetti and garlic bread sat on the counter waiting for the man sleeping on the couch to awaken and ingest it. Down the hall, two doors down was a room which held two sleeping girls all tuckered out after a spending the day at a local park. Their bellies full and minds content with pleasant dreams. The room to the right of them, which directly saw out down hall and to the living room, sat a blond still fully awake - busying himself on his laptop like a mad man whose life is on a very thin line. Said blond was writing up an essay that was due in a few weeks' time, seen as how Roxas was not one to do things last minute.

Clicking away on the keyboard, Roxas muttered under his breath a reminder to go food shopping before the sale ends. The young man finished his paragraph, saved his paper, and sat back in his chair to take a small break. It was almost three in the morning and Roxas still had two more pages to write. It wasn't that bad but he was tired and in much need of water so the blond went straight to the kitchen only to notice that Axel was still dead asleep and the food had gone cold. Chuckling to himself, Roxas put the food away and gave Axel another blanket just in case the man was chilly. "Good lord, you must be really burned out."

"More than we both thought huh?" Axel stirred awake, tossing himself up right. The redhead stretched out and popped his sore back. "Your couch sucks."

Roxas smiled down at Axel, shaking his head in amusement. "And here I thought you wanted my couch."

"Don't be a cheeky bastard, it's too damn early for that." Axel checked the time on his phone, blinking his eyes awake a few times. "Damn, it really is early."

"Or late, depends on how you look at it. How was your long ass nap?" Roxas questioned, walking back to the kitchen to get the water he had gotten up to get in the first place.

"Decent I guess. I didn't realize how tired I've been. Sorry for leaving you alone with the small beasts."

Roxas snorted and almost choked on his glass of water. "Thank god they didn't get into the sugar." The blond wanted to tell Axel about the talk he had with Xion earlier, but that may have to stay between just him and the kids, for now anyway.

"Oh, that would be fun."

"Tell me about it. Anyway, I contacted your mom about you and Xion staying a while longer. I guess she figured out that you wouldn't be getting Marluxia tonight since she never called to ask about you getting him." Roxas casually said, sitting next to Axel who stole the water right from the blonde's hand.

"You talked to my mother? Boy I hope she didn't talk your ear off and offer to adopt you in her bundle of children from the fiery pits of hell."

Roxas rolled his eyes, smirking as he said, "No but she did ask when our wedding was and if your dick still looked like it did when you were shitting your diapers."

Axel spit the water he had just begun to drink, coughing and choking as some of the liquid had gone down the wrong pipe. The whole time Roxas was laughing at the reaction he knew he'd get if he told Axel that. The startled redhead stared at his friend in mild shock, panting to catch his breath as his face paled faster than the light of the bright full moon glowing in the dead of night. Some part of him knew Roxas was just joking but at the same time Axel had just woken up, so his brain wasn't fully functional at the moment. "The hell Roxas, you don't do that to a guy when he's drinking something. Wedding, right, maybe when hell freezes over or better yet, when the in-laws tell me they love me."

Roxas hummed while calming himself down. "Yeah, besides, I told her you're nothing but my sex slave who now resides on my couch. You're basically my maid and cute little house wife."

Axel scoffed at the remark, wiping his jaw and putting the glass on the ground. "Look, if anyone is going to be a maid or house wife it would be you. And I'm the best damn sex slave you'll ever get so you better treat me right or I might just rebel and bite your head off. That dick comment, I'll have you know it's the cutest little thing in the world." Axel said as a matter of fact. He was just that confident in his size that it didn't matter if Roxas wanted to tease him about it.

"Oh my god!" Roxas exclaimed, laughing so hard he literally fell to the floor holding his sides. The site got Axel joining in the laughter, neither realizing it might have just been a little too loud. "Fuck Axel, I'm so glad you aren't offended or disgusted by any of this. You're really a cool guy you know that?"

Axel raised a brow. "Why would I? It's all good fun." Roxas shook his head and just lay on the floor starting to feel pooped all over again. "What are you doing up this late anyway?"

"I was working on an essay. I'm almost done with it so I'm taking a much-needed break. Oh, there's pasta in the fridge but I could make you something else if you don't feel up to eating it. I honestly don't care for day old spaghetti myself."

"Nah, I don't mind. Besides, what kind of slave would I be if I didn't eat my maid's cooking? You didn't poison it did you?" Axel got up and sauntered off toward the kitchen to seize the glory that was sustenance for his empty gut.

"Oh yeah, most definitely, what kind of house wife do you take me for?"

"An abusive one that doesn't try to kill me but loves to see me in pain." Axel laughed.

"Damn you got me there. I guess I must run back to the sex dungeon and plan your punishment because the poison will not be enough of one." Roxas rose to his feet and headed over to join Axel.

"Aw you're going to make my dreams come true?"

"Only for you."

"..."

The busted out into more laughter, this time receiving a loud bag on the neighboring wall. Roxas rolled his eyes, took the food from Axel, and heated it up for him. "I sometimes hate living here."

"I bet, the walls are probably way too thin."

"Yep."

A comfortable silence settled between the two as they waited for Axel's grub to finish heating up. In the meanwhile, the redhead helped himself to some fruit punch. Once the food was done Axel sat and complimented Roxas on the taste causing the blond to blush and excuse himself back to his room to finish up his assignment. This left Axel alone with his thoughts - thoughts that he didn't want to be alone with at the moment or any time really.

Axel reflected on the other day continuing to replay the day's events and the future conversation he and his kids would have to have with Sora. The call was inevitable if he wanted the brunet to find his wife sooner rather than later or not at all. Axel took his final bite, got up and cleaned his mess. The redhead pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, checking the time and for any missed calls. Of course, there were none so he went to check on the girls who were somehow sleeping peacefully even through all his and Roxas' racket. Smiling fondly at the calm before the most likely storm later in the morning Axel shut the bed room door and went into Roxas' open one. There the blond was once again typing away on his keyboard. The sound of clicking made Axel shutter in reminder of his own nuisance of a job awaiting him in only a day's time.

"Hey." Roxas glanced briefly at Axel.

"Nice room you got here." Axel commented looking around the small room. He spotted the full twin size bed next to the far-right wall beneath the window. Roxas was to the left of his door entrance at his small desk. Other than the bed and desk there was a closet to far left wall and nothing else.

"Thanks, I'm best the decorator I know." The blond chuckled, turning in his chair to face Axel. "Let me know if you want me to do your place, free of charge of course."

"Think I'll pass." Axel laid on the bed, his head resting on his arms, eyes staring up at the popcorn covered ceiling.

"Your loss then." Roxas turned back around and continued on to work on his homework.

Axel went back to his thoughts deciding that he will call Sora tomorrow to schedule an appointment with him as soon as the brunet is available. As he lay there he started to reminisce about his life with Yuna and did his best to re-account if there were any signs of her ever being unhappy with him. Their years together, always being the normal couple. Sure, they argued but what relationship doesn't have its ups and downs? They always made up in the end. Mostly by means of make-up sex thanks to Yuna. One day Axel had found that Yuna got off on it more than she wanted to let on, which was just fine with Axel though once Marluxia was born it slowly died down.

It wasn't like sex was the only thing they ever did anyway but it was probably more than healthy amount. They went on dates, the two of them or the four of them. Axel would help as best he could with house work. Sure, he could have showed his appreciation a little more, maybe buy her flowers like he used to when they were just dating. Maybe Yuna was beginning to feel like he had no respect for her. Maybe she was tired of being a house wife. Maybe she really was just tired of Axel. He was quite literally the only man she had ever been with after all. Then again, Yuna was only the third women he too had been with. Maybe the tiredness wasn't once sided. Maybe it really was his fault.

Axel rolled onto his side and glared out the window. Even if it were truly his fault she left, why wouldn't she talk to him about how unhappy she was? Why would she put the kids through all this when he knew this was not the type of women she was. Axel let out a disgruntle groan. He didn't want to think anymore damn it.

"You okay?" Asked Roxas, the glow from his laptop vanishing leaving nothing but the two men in the dark room of now noiseless surroundings.

Axel, completely forgetting where he was and who was there jumped in mild surprise. "Oh shit, yeah I'm fine. Just tired."

Roxas got up and sat on the bed. "Tired? After how long you've been sleeping? Maybe you're just getting old." Chuckled the blond now lying beside Axel.

"Maybe." Was all Axel muttered back to the blond.

"..."

"..."

"Well, good night Axel."

"Yeah, night Roxas."

"..."

"Was I a bad husband?" The redhead lugubriously inquired of the blond.

Roxas rolled onto his side, facing Axel's back sympathetically reaching out to the man in question. The soft hand on his shoulder let Axel know his friend had heard him. Pivoting over Axel met the bright sapphires filled with tender solace. "I can't answer that Axel, but from what I've seen, you are a fantastic father and a more astonishing person. I don't want to admit it because it's a little embarrassing. But, I really admire you, Axel. You're undoubtedly a stronger man than you're acknowledging yourself to be."

Axel took a moment to let his friend's words sink in, although deep down he didn't know if he could take them to heart. Not right then at least. "Thank you."

"Get some more sleep old man."

The following the day Axel called Sora, and two days later, instead of being back in that small building, he was waiting with his children at home. Of course, he had to take the day off much to his boss's wrath. It didn't bother him as much it usually would. He supposed his mind was just that far away from anything he didn't deem important of late.

The house was clean, the kids were fed, and Axel was mentally dead. If Xion never had that talk with Roxas then she wouldn't be sitting next him, staring at his blank expression in worry. The raven-haired girl poked Axel's cheek and got no reaction from the man. Marluxia cried and threw a toy at his father's head and nothing happened. Xion was about to take Axel's phone out of his hand and call her grandma until she heard the doorbell ring. That got Axel to snap out of his daze and march toward the front door.

Sora stood there, trade mark smile and all. "Hello again Mr. Vin."

"Ah, yeah, hello Sora. The kids are in the living room." Axel managed to spit out, feeling embarrassed.

"Are you all right Mr. Vin? You seem out of sorts." Sora commented in concern for his client's wellbeing.

"I'm fine, just not getting enough sleep is all. Please, come in."

Sora nodded and entered the house hold, eyes studying his surroundings the whole time. The two men walked to the back of the house finding Xion and a naked Marluxia. Axel groaned, quickly picking up his son's clothes and said child. "Sorry, he does that."

"Children will be children." Sora laughed, still looking around with his eyes.

"Daddy, is this batman?" Xion asked in awe.

"Batman?" Sora grinned from ear to ear. "You must be Xion. I'm Sora and I'm one of Batman's assistants. I've come here to ask you for your help on a case. Do you think you can answer some questions for me?"

Xion looked Sora up and down, crossing her arms with a little pout. "But I wanted Batman to find Mommy."

"Xion, please answer Sora's questions. It's very important." Axel pleaded finally getting Marluxia dressed again.

Xion kept her pout and sat on the couch. "Okay Daddy."

"Axel, you are more than welcome to stay during the questioning as no doubt you are curious as to what I am going to ask, though I do request that you don't interrupt the process or answer for your children. I would like them to answer as honestly as possible." Sora sat down on the couch while Axel nodded and sat in the arm chair with the struggling Marluxia.

"Okay Xion, I'm going to ask you some questions and you just answer as best as you can." Sora gently spoke to the girl.

"Okay."

"Did your mommy and daddy ever fight?"

"Yes."

Axel felt his eye twitch as the young detective just got right into it without hesitation. He had to bite his tongue just to keep from speaking.

"Did your daddy ever hit you, your brother, or your mommy?"

"Hey!"

"Mr. Vin, I asked you not to interrupt us. Xion, don't be afraid to answer okay? Everything will be fine I promise." Sora patted the child's head while she stared at her grumpy looking father for reassurance.

Axel spoke as calmly as he could to his daughter without glaring daggers at Sora. "Xion, it's fine. Go ahead and answer."

Xion nodded, eyes going back to Sora. "Daddy spanks us. Mommy does too and I don't like getting spanked. But Mommy says she and Daddy don't like it either that's why we shouldn't be bad."

"What's being bad?"

"Smacking Marly or getting in trouble at school, or yelling back, shoving Marly in mud puddles." Axel wanted to face palm and Sora wanted to laugh a little.

"Why would you do that to your brother?"

"Cause he always tries to take Mommy away from me or he steals my toys. But I don't hurt him anymore cause Daddy says big sister's protect their little brothers. And big girls aren't bad."

Axel felt himself smile a little at that. His baby girl was so sweet to remember something he said a while ago and a few years ago. She was such a smart child.

Sora flipped a page in the note book he took out when he sat down. "Did mommy ever seem sad or say anything about being unhappy?"

"Only when Daddy came home from work late or when Grandpa said he wanted Mommy to get a uh um...divoice."

"Divorce?"

"Yeah that."

Sora looked over to a shocked looking Axel. The man loosened his grip on Marluxia who instantly took off out of the room screaming about being Ironman and wanting a cookie. The brunet felt pity for the man however he wasn't going to let that stop the meeting.

"Why does your grandpa want your mommy to leave your daddy?"

"I don't know, but Mommy was sad and mad at Grandpa. Mr. Sora, Grandpa says it's Daddy's fault Mommy left but Roxas says that it's not true. Roxas says Batman will find my Mommy because Daddy asked him too."

Sora paused and giggled. "Yes, Daddy asked batman to find her and I believe this Roxas is right. But Xion, who is Roxas?"

Xion beamed and began to bounce on the couch. "Roxas is Daddy's boyfriend! Roxas is Aqua's Uncle! Aqua is my best friend and she and I have sleep overs and one time we made breakfast and Roxas helped us and Roxas made cleaning fun but I like Daddy more than Roxas cause Roxas said he only gives candy on special days and that's weird."

"Slow down Xion." Sora laughed, a little stunned by the girl's new enthusiasm. Axel on the hand felt his face go completely red.

Xion giggled now full of energy. "I think Daddy loves Mommy more than Roxas but that's okay cause then when Batman finds Mommy we can all live together and and and Aqua and I can be sisters and,"

"X-Xion, can you go find where Marly went?"

"Okay Daddy!" Xion skipped off to look for her bother, leaving the two adults alone.

Sora cleared his throat to get Axel's attention. The man with the rose-colored face met Sora's curious stare. "Boyfriend?"

"Oh God, it's not what you think, I swear. Roxas is just a buddy of mine who I happen to meet the day Yuna went missing. Please don't take what Xion said to heart." Axel said waving his arms in front of himself frantically.

Dark blue eyes scanned to where the kids had gone, then back to Axel, "I'll believe you for now. But just so you know, if you are hiding anything from me that could compromise this case, I reserve all rights to drop it and still charge full price."

"Roxas is just my friend. Hell, I'd go as far to say he's my best friend. Like I said, I met him before I knew Yuna had vanished. He's helped me a lot with the kids." Axel told Sora. He spent a few minutes describing their friendship, leaving out how Roxas was gay. That wasn't his place to say.

Sora listened to Axel's every word, jotting down notes here and there. "Okay, from what you're telling me is that he's a good friend. Something is off though, but I'm keeping it to myself for now. Anyway, can you call the kids back so I can continue this meeting?"

"Yeah sure." Axel got up from his seat and went in search for his kids. They ended up being in the kitchen, elbows deep in a large bag of candy. Great.

After a small struggle to get the bag away from the kids, Axel managed to round them back into the living room with a small amount of candy to put on the coffee table for everyone to enjoy. The interaction continued. Sora kept asking question and Xion would provide an answer or say she didn't know. When Marluxia was asked he called Sora poopie head and that he wanted Roxas. Sora said he wasn't a poopie head and Marluxia was silly. An hour had passed since Sora's arrival and in that time the brunet had made up his mind about two things. One, he did not believe that Axel had anything to do with Yuna being kidnapped or possibly killed. And two...

"Well Axel I have all the information I need for now. I shall start investigating on the case of your missing wife. Now as for my fee you know how expensive it is. You are sure you can cover it all?" Sora asked standing by the front door with raised brow.

Axel rubbed the back of his head looking uncertain. "Even if I must take out a loan or two I will pay you for your services. I'm one hundred percent positive about this. Please, Sora, find my wife and the mother of my children."

"Of course." Sora shook Axel's hand, handed him a payment plan and left in his car.

Axel sat back on his couch and took a look at what would surely cost him more than putting Xion through college would. "What the?!" Axel said in astonishment. He wasn't sure if he was reading the bill right. It looked as if it were cut in half, no more than half. Surely Sora must be mistaken right? Axel read the paper carefully and saw a small note at the bottom. There it in neat little hand writing said that Axel was not mistaken and that Sora just felt like being nice, especially after seen how much he cares for his family and how much his kids care for him.

"Holy shit."

~X~x~X~x~

"Yo Axel! What are you doing after work tonight? Some of us are going to the bar, wanna join us?" A cheery, tall, blue eyed, dirty blonde coworker said in a sing song voice as he causally leaned against one end of Axel's cubical.

Axel stopped clicking around at his desk top, turning in his chair to face his unwanted guest. "Look, Demyx I've already told a few days ago that I can't hang out. I've got kids I need to take care of. I can't just take off like I used too."

Demyx dropped his head in disappointment when an idea popped into his head. "What about a sitter? You could just get one set up and then come out with the guys."

Axel shook his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose. They had already talked about this and Axel was getting to his limit. Good thing it was the weekend. Something Axel was looking forward too. Roxas was coming over and they planned to take the kids to either the zoo or movie to get away from the stress that was home. "Look Demyx, I'd like too but I can't afford a sitter and I am not going to ask my old lady or the in-laws. I just have a lot going on. But if you really want to hang out then just come over tomorrow. And only you, alright?"

"Sure, why the hell not. I've got nothing better to do. When should I head on over?"

"How about around six or whatever. Nothing before that because I'm taking the kids out."

"You got it." Demyx said with a wave as he walked back to the crowd near the elevator, yelling at them that Axel would not be coming out with them.

Axel rolled his eyes and got back to work when his cell phone rang. Axel wanted to slam his head against his desk. Speak of the devil, well think of the devil since he never said the name out loud. "Roxas, what's up?"

"Just letting you know that I got Xion and Marluxia with me. Your mother called me asking if I could get him. You gave her my number?" Roxas laughed through the phone.

"Yeah sorry about that. I should have asked if it was alright first. She just insisted that I did in case i couldn't be reached for some stupid ass reason." Axel explained and began to get back to work, holding his phone between his head and shoulder.

Roxas hummed on the other side, making Axel unknowingly smile just from the sound. "It's all right, I understand and she explained it all to me when she called. Haha, I just wanted to let you know now because who knows when you would have checked for a text. I hope you don't mind that I fed them already too."

"Oh no, man that's fine. Thank you actually because I might be later than I would like anyway. The boss man is on my ass more than usual all because I took a day off. Man I wish I could quit." Axel stopped working and just relaxed in his chair.

Roxas hummed again, his voice drifting off. "Xion wants to talk to you." Roxas laughed.

"Daddy, can Aqua spend the night again?" Xion pleaded over the phone.

"Yes Xion, Aqua can but you really should ask Roxas."

"Roxas? Yay! Thank you Daddy, thank you Roxas." Xion giggled and handed the phone back to Roxas as his voice became distant.

"Hello again, I take it you didn't tell her about tomorrow?" Roxas asked.

"Nope. It's going to be a surprise for them. Thanks for this by the way. I have no idea how I could do any of this without your help."

"No problem, well I better let you go now. See ya later Axel."

"Yeah, see ya." Axel hung up the phone only to jump in his chair at the sight of Demyx smiling at him from behind the cubical. "Demyx what the fuck?!"

"Sounds like you got date. Shame on you lying to me like that." Demyx teased. He knew about Yuna, almost the whole office floor knew about her going missing and Axel's struggle but being the new guy, Demyx only found out about a week ago, that being said he made it his mission to try and get Axel to a happy place.

Axel rolled his eyes wanting to snap at his eavesdropper. "Demyx, what the hell are you doing? I thought you were leaving."

"I was but then I remembered I don't know where you lived. That's when I heard you talking and I saw that smile on your face. Not that I'm judging or anything. You deserve to find someone new." Demyx said bluntly, not seeing how badly he just messed up.

Axel paused, saved his work and stood up. The redhead grabbed his shit and walked out of his small space, silently marching passed Demyx. The blond followed after him sensing the tension now in the air. "Sorry, I didn't mean anything by that. I just thought you should have some fun. Any kind of fun."

Axel clocked out and waited for the elevator, trying to control his temper. He took a deep breath and got into the small space along with Demyx. There Axel faced the blond, irritation in his eyes. "Demyx, just stop talking now. I don't have date, I was talking to a friend of mine who helps me with my kids. That's all you need to know. Here is my address." Axel grabbed Demyx hand and wrote it down, hoping that it would smudge up and be unreadable by the time they got outside.

"Sorry, must be one heck of a friend." Demyx replied sheepishly.

"Yeah, see ya later." Axel got off on the last stop and headed for his car while Demyx went back up for lord knows why. It didn't matter to Axel anyway. For now, he was going to go buy a lot of alcohol for tomorrow night or so he told himself.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leven: Crap has it really been a month! Sorry! We'll be better with updates lol
> 
> Ewon: Drama!!!!!!!

Axel woke to a throbbing headache, dry mouth, and heavy eyes. The light coming through his bedroom window was currently the bane of the man's existence as it made all his symptoms worse. How much did he drink last night? Couldn't have been more than a couple of beers with Roxas.

The sound of the front door opening and kids running into his house made Axel groan. He didn't want to deal with loud and rowdy kids. He wanted to throw up and go back to sleep. But it didn't look like he would be getting anymore sleep as his bedroom door opened and a pissed off Roxas walked in.

"Oh, so now you're awake." Blue eyes glared at the older man, "I took the kids to the zoo. You know, like we planned to do today."

Axel sat up and rubbed his temples. How long was he out? The redhead ignored Roxas for a second to check the time. He moaned as the light from his phone flashed into his eyes. "It's almost four." He heard Roxas mutter. The redhead checked his phone anyway and sure enough it was three fifty. He practically slept through the entire day. How much did he fucking drink?!

"Listen, I fed the kids a while ago, so you just have stay sober enough to get them dinner. Aqua and I are leaving now, message me when you decide not to get shit faced drunk when we get together." Roxas said bitterly, turning on his heel to leave when Axel called out to him to wait. "What?" He almost snapped.

Axel groaned, got up and stumbled toward Roxas who was acting as if they were lovers in a bad argument. At least that's what it seemed like in Axel's eyes. Nonetheless Axel wanted to know what the hell Roxas was being so pissy about and what the hell happened last night to make the redhead drink so much to not remember a single thing. "Roxas, I don't know what's up your ass right now, but if you would oh so kindly drop the attitude and explain to me why you are so damn grumpy with me then maybe we can not end up in the inevitable fight that is sure too happen because I am not in the fucking mood to deal with more shit."

Roxas glared at the redhead, more ticked with him than he was already. Roxas had ever right to pissed at the man. Instead of doing as Axel asked the blond turned and walked away, and straight to were the kids were. Axel followed after him saw the three mini humans playing with their new stuffed animals. Xion with monkey, Aqua with a tiger, and Marluxia with an elephant. The sight calmed Axel to an extant and replaced his rage at Roxas with guilt.

Roxas knelt down and asked the kids if they could go play in the backyard and to keep and eye on Marluxia because Axel and he had to talk about grown up things. The kids nodded, but not before Xion walked up to her father showed him her new monkey. "Look Daddy, Roxas got this for me. Isn't it neat? His name Sora." Xion giggled and pointed to her brother's elephant. "And Marly calls his Mr. Poopie Mcsmellybutt."

Axel gave Xion a small smile, not sure about her naming choice but smiled on regardless. "That's nice honey. Uh why don't you go on outside now." Axel said patting her head. Xion giggled again, running off with Aqua and Marluxia to the backyard, screaming about her monkey being a super hero.

With the kids now out of ear shot, Roxas rolled his sleeve and showed Axel the nice little purple mark on his arm. Axel stared at it unsure of why Roxas was showing him that. He got closer to get a better look. "What the hell?"

"You bit me, but that's not to say I didn't bite you back. You should really look in a mirror when you get the chance." Roxas covered his arm back up, eyes glaring at the floor. "We were having a great time, just talking and making fun whatever we were watching. We had a couple of beers but I guess you were already drinking before I showed up. I didn't want to say anything because the kids were around."

"I do recall drinking a little before you came over but so what? I had a crap day and I wanted to relax a little." Axel sat on his couch and checking his own arms for marks.

"I didn't bite your arm, asshole. We stupidly decided to wrestle and you for some reason thought my arm was food. I swear it seemed like you were high. I-" Roxas licked his dry lips, his cheeks going red. There was no need to tell Axel that when he was sucking on his arm that the blond got turned on and moaned. Nope, no reason at all.

"Well I can assure you I wasn't high and that doesn't sound like something I'd ever do." Axel grumbled, not sure he believed Roxas at this point. Roxas rolled his eyes.

"Well I can assure you that you did do just that. Anyway, I tried to shove you off and that caused you to break skin. I got pissed and tried to bite your arm back but I missed and...well I- you should really look in a mirror." Roxas gazed away, his anger being replaced by embarrassment.

Axel grumbled under his breath as he got up and headed to the bathroom, leaving Roxas with baited breath. Green eyes scanned his face, and boy was he a mess. His hair was tangled and sticking out everywhere, his eyes had bags and his face was scruffy. Other than that Axel didn't see anything, so he took off his shirt so inspect his torso. There was nothing there, however, right between his neck and collar bone was a nice bruise that looked exactly like the one on Roxas' arm. "What the fuck?! Roxas!" Yelled Axel, storming out of the bathroom and back to the pouting blond now on the couch.

"The hell did you do this for? I get you wanted to get revenge for, what I understand, the accidental hickey. But did you really have to fucking do that to my neck? I mean come on I got a place that can be hidden." Axel glared at the blond furiously.

Roxas stood up, he wasn't going to just let Axel yell at him like that. "You have no right to be pissed at me! You're the one that got drunk! You're the one that didn't get up! You're the one that didn't have to answer Xion as to why her father wasn't with her today. You didn't have to drink! You should have been there today. I tried to wake up but you did not budge. Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to go get Aqua and we are going home."

Axel stood there taking it all in. He did feel guilty about the missing out on the zoo trip and it was his choice to drink. He just wanted to relax a little...So he drank more than he intended? It happens, that didn't mean he'd do it again. He was going to tell Roxas that but the blond was already on the move and soon he was headed to the front the door with Aqua in tow. The redhead watched as Xion chased after them, no doubt not wanting Aqua to leave so soon.

With a sigh in great annoyance Axel headed toward the front door. Aqua and Xion were saying goodbyes to each other and Roxas expression was softer than it was when he was yelling at the redhead. "Lets go Aqua, you'll see Xion at school."

"Okay." Aqua replied. "Bye Xion."

"Bye Aqua, bye Roxas. Thank you for taking me to the zoo." Xion smiled up at the blond.

"You are welcome Xion." Roxas ruffled her head just noticing Axel. The two stared at each other for a moment and then the two guest were gone.

"Daddy, why didn't you say bye to Roxas?" Xion asked now facing her father.

"We already said our goodbyes while you were playing outside." Axel lied, "So how was the zoo? Did you see any giraffes?"

Xion beamed at the mention of her favorite animal, "They're so tall! And..and...Daddy, did you know that they have black tongues!? Why can't I have a black tongue?"

Axel chuckled, "You can if you eat your veggies." He lied again though this one not as bad as the last. Hey, she had to eat them anyone so why not lie about it?

"Yuck." Xion stuck out her tongue and stared at it. "Okay, I'll try."

Green eyes scanned the room and noticed something, or someone, missing, "Xion, where's your brother?"

"Outside. Where you told us to go." The girl innocently said.

With a groan Axel walked to the sliding glass door that lead to the back yard. Where he saw his son playing in a mud puddle completely naked.

"Damn it all." Axel groaned again, grabbed the hose and watered the mud off of his son. Xion saw this and screamed in excitement. The girl ran outside and jumped in the mud fully dressed, splashing Axel in the process.

"Shit!" Axel kicked his legs out in a vain attempt to get the mud off his pants, "Xion will you quit it? And don't you dare throw that mud at me Marly."

"Uh oh." Marluxia said having did just that.

"Damn it." Axel was starting to get angry again. The redhead turned off the hose, scoped up his kids and brought them to the bathroom. Marluxia struggled to get away, whining and kicking Axel in face. Axel was just happy that Xion was more willing to get cleaned. After their shower Axel put them down for a nap, which both of the kids fought against. With promises of more sleep overs with Aqua and candy for Marluxia, the kids finally took their nap.

Axel took that time to take a shower himself and wash all of the days events off of him. The fight with Roxas was something he didn't think would happen ever. The blond was usually so passive and didn't seem like the type to anger quickly. Then again Axel was still getting to know the blond and his strangely soft skin. "Why the hell am I thinking about his skin?" Axel said to himself while washing his own body. The redhead shrugged it off and thought about Yuna and how he hoped she would be soon.

The day was as good as gone by the time Axel finally pulled himself out of the shower. The man looked through his drawers with an annoyed air around him. He didn't really feel like putting anything on. Boxers would have to do. Its not like he hasn't done it around the house before, but with Roxas and Aqua hanging around it had been a while.

"Lazy day it is." The redhead decided. He pulled one the single article of clothing and went out to the living room. He was half expecting his kids to be up and destroying the house, but apparently their little trip to the zoo had worn them out. Good, maybe that meant he could relax for the rest of the afternoon.

Ding. Dong.

Or not.

Axel let out an audible groan as he oh so dearly wished he could punch the wall for a while instead of answering the door. Then again he didn't have too, he could pretend he wasn't home at all. However, the door bell went off a few more time causing Axel too to feel irradiated. The noise went through out the house, anymore and he was sure that Marly would wake up and there would be hell to pay. The redhead went to the front door half expecting to see Roxas with an apology or at least an explanation on why he had come back.

"Roxas, you're seriously pissing me...off?" Axel opened the door, pausing mid sentence when he saw that it was not Roxas at his door. No, it was much worse to the redhead whom was now remembering what he stupidly did the evening before.

"Roxas? Aw come on Axel, we've been working for a week or so now. It's me Demyx." The tall dirty blond playfully joked while he stood there with a twelve pack of beers.

Axel stared up at the ceiling contemplating his life choices. The redhead moved aside allowing Demyx into his house. The blond happily stepped inside following Axel to the kitchen. "Demyx, I'm going to go put some clothes on, make yourself at home just don't make any loud noises, my kids are napping."

"You got it."

Axel grumbled angerly to himself. Why was he so stupid? Why did he give Demyx his address? He just wanted to sleep. But then again, free beer.

When he finished dressing Axel found Demyx sitting in the living room, beer in hand and a bag of chips at his side, "Hey man, what took you so long? Trying to look pretty for me?" Demyx stupidly laughed as he flipped through the TV stations.

"Will you shut up." Axel groaned as he grabbed a beer of his own and sat on the other side of the sectional couch, leaving a good distance away from the weird guest.

Demyx laughed and stuffed some chips into his mouth. Axel finished his first beer off and got another. "So, how was your day? Mine was alright. I slept like baby. You didn't miss much last night either. Man the guys in the office are so boring. Old men don't know how to have fun unless they are too drunk to remember but all of them left early to get back to their families. Boy oh boy am I glad I don't have to worry about that. Well, sometimes my old lady calls to check up on me. I swear she's a worry wort."

"Damn Demyx just keep quiet for a while. You came at a pretty shitty time." Axel said in annoyance.

"Oh? I take it you had a fight with your girlfriend- or sorry your 'friend', that explains why you called me Roxas and seemed extra mad." Demyx laughed loudly to himself. "No biggie, you can tell me about it if you want other wise I promise I'll shut just for a while."

"Okay then," Axel turned towards Demyx. The blond eagerly jumped in his seat as he waited for the hot gossip that was his mysterious co-worker's love life, "Shut up."

Demyx's expression suddenly fell in disappointment, "Fine. I know how to keep my end of a deal." The dirty blond pouted in his seat for a moment before getting up to get himself another beer, "Maybe I should have brought more with me." He joked as he sat back down.

"Got more in the fridge if you want. Yuna still got some wine laying around too." Axel mumbled into his own bottle as he continued his search for something interesting to watch. Stupid weekend and no decent programs being on. He may have to admit defeat and go through his DVD collection soon.

"Oh cool...I um er...I'm sorry about your wife. I know I never said anything in the office but I thought it would be better not to say anything there." Demyx took a sip from his can. "Do you recycle or just throw the cans away?"

Axel let out a small sigh. His anger slowly dissipating from the sincerity of his coworker. "Recycle." He replied, the edge in his voice all but gone. "We- I recycle the cans, but you can leave them here for now." Axel, for the first time that day noticed how his living room wasn't a mess like it should have been. He remembered pizza boxes, plates, cans of beer and soda, some toys here and there. It was all spotless aside from the cans that he and Demyx just laid out. "Fuck." Axel whispered, realizing that Roxas must have cleaned up the mess sometime that day. Guilt finally hitting him.

"Okay, cool. Hey Axel, whats your favorite scary movie?" Demyx said light heatedly, trying to change get rid of the tension in the air.

"Anything gory. Why do you ask, Ghostface?" Axel tried to hold back his chuckle at how happy Demyx seemed to look at the fact that he had caught the reference.

"Because it's getting dark outside. Good mood lighting for something nice and scary." Demyx tried to give Axel a mischievous and evil look, but it was instantly gone as the dirty blond began to laugh at his own antics, "And you look like the type of dude who'd have a good horror stash."

Axel glanced over his shoulder and down the hall. Either his kids would sleep for the rest of the night and wake up super early in the morning, or they'd wake up from their nap and get traumatized by blood gore, and possibly nudity. But the small buzz going through Axel's system told him to not worry about it. Plus Demyx did have a point, there was something in the air that demanded a scary movie, "Chainsaw Massacre?"

"Original or remake?" Demyx eagerly asked as he bounced on the edge of his seat.

"Umm…original. Duh." Axel said as he stood from his spot, ignoring the sudden rush that went to his head, and started to look though his DVD collection that stayed locked up in a cabinet and out of his kid's reach.

Axel put in the movie and sat back. Despite having a shitty time earlier, Axel was starting to think Demyx was an okay guy. It would be nice to have another friend besides Roxas. One who knows his struggle of the office hours and one that knows the struggle of parenthood. Speaking of which, Axel knew he was going to have to be the one to contact Roxas first as much as his pride hated to admit it. For now, chilling with Demyx was just what the doctor ordered.

As the movie played on getting to the good parts the two men jumped out of their skin when they heard a shriek louder than a banshee's wail right behind them. The two men looked back and saw Xion standing there, plushie in hand, howling in terror and eyes larger than a couple of saucers.

"Shit, Xion what are you doing up?" Axel asked, quickly getting up to block his daughter's view of the television. At the same time Demyx shut of said device.

Tears started to leak from the corners of the little girl's eyes, "I…I couldn't sleep and…and…" Xion couldn't get anymore words out as she began to cry. Axel did his best to sooth the girl. He gathered her up in his arms and started to pat her back and shush her like she was a baby again.

Green eyes looked over at Demyx who seemed to take the hint, "Hey man, it was fun and all, but its getting late. I'll see you at work on Monday." And with that the man made his exit, leaving Axel alone with his upset daughter.

"W-who was that?" Xion finally managed to choke out once her fit was over. She wiped at her cheeks with the back of her hands as she tried to calm the tremors going through her.

Axel sat on the couch, making sure Xion stayed on his lap as he kept her in a loose yet comforting hug, "Just a friend from work."

"I don't like him." Xion confessed, making Axel laugh, "Why did you invite him over and not Roxas?"

Axel struggled with a reply. He did not want Xion to know that he and Roxas weren't getting along without worrying her about Aqua. "Well, Daddy wanted to have a new friend over. Roxas has been here a lot lately. Plus he needs to concentrate on homework and school. Just as you do too little lady."

Xion pouted at that, but it soon morphed into a hopeful look, "Do you think Roxas can be a study buddy with me and Aqua?" The girl was practically bouncing on her feet at the thought, "He can help me with math questions and write my vocabulary words!" The girl all but squealed in delight.

Axel laughed at his girl and patted her on the head, "You'll have to ask if he can help you, but he isn't allowed to just give you the answers. That's not how you learn." The girl went back to her pout. Axel couldn't help but be amused at how fast Xion's emotions changed, "Are you ready to go back to bed now?"

Raven hair tossed back and forth and Xion tried to burrow into her father's sternum, "No! That scary man with the chainsaw is going to come get me!"

Great. Axel knew he shouldn't have let Demyx talk him into watching a scary movie, "Okay kiddo how about you sleep with me tonight."

Teary blue eyes looked up at the redhead, "Can Sora sleep in your bed too?" She whimpered.

Axel had to hold back a laugh at the thought of Sora sleeping in the bed, but then he remembered that's what Xion had named her stuff monkey, "Yeah, Xi, he can come too." The girl cheered, only to be quickly shushed by her father, didn't want Marly waking up too, "Let me get changed and brush my teeth. We'll rendezvous back in my room."

"Okay Daddy!" Xion climbed off of Axel's lap and started to go back to her room but stopped just short of the hallway, "Umm…Daddy…what does rendezvous mean?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review and tell us what you think and what you think is going to happen :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ewonsama: Sorry it's been a while but can you blame us? Leven with her finals and me...with my video games hahaha. We hope you enjoy cuz we won't be posting until next year.
> 
> Leven: Yo! Hope ya'll have a happy New Years! Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

The following weeks were once again a complete hell hole for Axel. What with Roxas still not talking to him and having to go see his mother every single day to pick up both his kids. Not to mention Demyx still asking him to hang out daily. Axel was pretty much done with life. He hasn't even heard from Sora since the interview with his children. All in all, Axel was back to being very tense. The redhead was very close to wanting to jump off a bridge to get away from it all if only for a moment or two.  

 

Although work wasn't as bad since Demyx was there to complain about their asshole boss. But the guy was still annoying at some points. It made the work load his boss still loved to give them somehow not as bad. The overtime was both a good and bad thing in the redhead's mind. What with having to pay Sora, food, and bills. Still, Axel was ready to quit and take his mother's offer of living with her.  

 

As for his actual home life....it was a mess. Yes, as stated Xion was being nice to Axel again and was trying her best to help him around the house while Marluxia continued to trash it every chance he got. Yet the little girl was missing her best friend and Axel knew the feeling all too well. Roxas and Aqua filled the void that Yuna left in their lives. Someone to distract them from real world shit.   
 

When Axel wasn't thinking about Yuna, Sora, his kids, and work; the redhead found himself thinking about Roxas and how the blond really lit up a room when he was around and how he made Axel feel at ease. There was something about the younger man that Axel couldn't explain. All the redhead knew was that he hated being on bad terms with blond. His stubbornness was the reason Axel had yet to make any contact with the blond. Whether he didn't have a good apology or Axel wanted the blond to say it first. The man wasn't sure. He just knew that the longer they didn't talk the worse it would be for their little girls.  

 

Rolling onto his side, the redhead stared at the empty space that was once Yuna's. Frowning, Axel sat up and got out of bed. He felt bitter with another hangover from drinking the night before. Xion and Marluxia were at school and daycare while Axel called off from work just so he could sleep some more. Though sleep did not take place as Axel decided to masturbate instead since he was alone for once. With a yawn Axel went straight to his shower once again getting himself off to the thoughts of brown hair turning blonde.  

 

"Fuck." Axel stopped his hand, panting softly as the spray of water consumed his body. 

 

Axel stayed in the shower, lost in thought about everything, until the water turned cold and forced him out. The redhead retreated to his room where an important question came to mind. To get dressed and, at the very least, clean up a bit, or take a quick naked nap. It had been a while since he'd been able to do that and with his mother thinking he was at work, Axel knew she wouldn't mind keeping the kids for a while longer. So, there was nothing stopping him but the damn nagging voice in his head telling him to be a good adult and clean. With a groan Axel quickly got dressed in some sweats and an old band tee and got to work. First stop was the bathroom. Potty training Marly hadn’t been going according to plan and things had gotten...messy... 

 

With one room done Axel got to work cleaning up the rest of the house, including changing the sheets of every bed in the house. It took the man a good few hours to get the place back in order but it was satisfying to see it clean again. Although Axel did wonder how long that would last once the kids got home. "Well shit," Axel chuckled to himself as he went back inside from taking out the trash. "Might as well get dinner started...No, stupid idea. It's too early for that.... lunch for one it is." Axel muttered to himself, heading for the kitchen to get himself a sandwich. While munching on said sandwich Axel checked the time, noticing it was about time for the kids to be out. "Ah, so much for a nap." 

 

The redhead fixed himself some chips to go with his sandwich and took his lunch with him to the living room where he could watch a random movie until it was time for him to get off work.  

 

At least that was the plan.  

 

Suddenly the front door swung open (and it did not make Axel jump. He would deny it if anyone asked) and Xion came running in with Aqua hot on her heels. The two girls didn't seem to register Axel as they ran back into Xion's room. Axel looked between the room down the hall and the open front door, confusion written over his face. Roxas then came in holding Marluxia. The blond didn't look at Axel as he gently placed the toddler on the floor and patted his bottom, encouraging the child to go play. Once the boy ran off and out of the room Roxas looked up at Axel, and in the blink of an eye the blond had Axel wrapped in a spine crushing hug causing Axel to drop his lunch onto the floor with a splat. The older man was about to shove the younger away until he felt something wet on his shirt. Tears? No, it couldn't be could it? Then again why else would Axel feel his shirt wet unless Roxas was spitting on it. No, instead Axel felt the blond trembling against his torso. Roxas was crying? But why?  

 

Axel slowly wrapped his arms around the blond in an awkward embrace. He wasn't used to holding men in his arms for such a long period of time yet he knew he had to get over that since the blond seemed to be in a panicked state. "Roxas?" No answer, the blond instead let himself cry aloud a little, sniffling as he did so. "Roxas, come on man tell me what's wrong."  

 

Roxas kept his silence and Axel continued to hold him, allowing him to cry out whatever it was that was bothering him. "Let’s go take a seat." Axel suggested, breaking the hold. The redhead turned, stepping on chips as he and Roxas made their way to the couch where Roxas was quick to get a hold of Axel in another tight ass hug. Axel inwardly sighed, staring up at the ceiling while patting Roxas head. This so was not how he pictured his day going.  

 

It felt like hours passed when in reality it was only ten minutes more of crying did Roxas calm himself enough to speak. "I'm sorry," Roxas started, not once letting go of Axel. "I know it’s probably strange seeing me here and crying onto you after everything. Thank you for not pushing me away. You have no idea how badly I.....I'm sorry about what happened last time."  

 

"Yeah pretty much what I was thinking. But come on you didn't really think I was going to just push you away after you practically started to cry. I'm that much of an asshole." Axel chuckled, still feeling awkward as he looked at the familiar shade of blond hair. It was then Axel felt his face completely heat up for reasons he rather not completely comprehend at the moment. Clearing his throat Axel glanced away to anything but the blond. "I uh- look Roxas, about what happened the other day, I'm the one that's sorry. I shouldn't have drunk like that or well you know." 

 

Roxas nodded his head. "Yeah, I know. The pasted is the pasted." Mumbled Roxas, his voice slightly muffled by Axel's shirt. 

 

"Right, and I want you to know that it'll never happen again, or well, if we have planned the next day anyway." Axel laughed, dropping his arms to his side.  

 

Roxas laughed as well, pulling away from Axel whom gazed at the puffy blue eyes and red tinted nose that was Roxas' face. "Sure, right of course, and pigs will fly while carrying hippos."  

 

"I'm so wounded you don't believe me." Axel smirked and Roxas gave a smile in return. Whatever awkwardness was there was replaced with a feeling of warmth and comfort. One that neither of the two men have felt since before the night of the fight; since the last time they were faced to face, looking each other in the eye. 

 

Roxas sniffed one last time before looking away from Axel, "I actually came over for another reason." The blond mumbled. He took in a sharp inhale and slow exhale as he tried to calm his racing heart, "This past week I've felt really unsettled. No matter where I go, I always feel like I'm being followed but I can never catch anyone. Even when it's just Aqua and I at home. She said she's had the same feeling. Neither of us feel safe at home anymore. I was wondering if..."  

 

"You two can stay here for as long as you need. And tomorrow we can go to the police and see if they can have a car drive around your block at night whenever you do decide to go home." Axel immediately said, without thought. He didn't feel like Roxas only apologized so he could get away from his own home life, but the two things just happened at the same time. That’s what he wanted to believe anyway. 

 

Roxas bit his lower lip, trying to suppress more tears. "I already did that. They drove by once and that was that." Roxas admitted feeling uneasy. "I called them again and they said all they can do is do another drive and that's it because I'm not being threaten or attacked. I’m just ‘being paranoid’." Roxas hissed the last part out as he remembered the unhelpful cop on the phone. 

 

Axel saw how distressed the thought made Roxas and without thinking the man wrapped the blond in another hug, "Well my offer still stands; you and Aqua can stay here for as long as you'd like."  

 

Roxas numbly nodded, "Thank you Axel. I'll help pay bills and buy food. I don't want to be a burden or anything for you." 

 

Axel gentle pushed Roxas back, keeping his hands on the blond's shoulders. "Don't you even think about it. Roxas, you still gotta pay your own bills so don't worry about it. Besides, I'm not about to let my friend pay for anything...well okay food but only if it's really necessary."  

 

"If you are sure?" 

 

"I am, I guess we should figure out sleeping arrangements but as it stand, I'm hungry as fuck." Axel chuckled as he and Roxas stood up.  

 

Roxas glanced at the food on the floor sheepishly. "Sorry about that. I'll clean it up."  

 

"Nah, I got it."    
 

Axel cleaned up the mess and Roxas insisted on making Axel another sandwich which turned into a couple more for the kids. After eating the pair went to Roxas’ car to get some clothes and other necessities Roxas had packed up. The blond explained that he and Aqua were going to stay in a hotel for a few days but that was before Roxas grew the balls to talk to Axel about everything. The redhead told the blond then and there that he could come to him for anything whether they were fighting or not. Roxas said the feeling was mutual and apologized again for not getting Xion for the pasted few weeks. Of course, Axel told him not to worry about it.  

 

The two men got everything into the house, leaving things in the living room for later as Axel explained he had some work to do so when he went back to the office, he wouldn't have so much on his plate. Roxas stated he had homework and that college sucks more dick than a cheap hooker. Chuckling, Axel and Roxas set up their own laptops, sitting on opposite sides of the table, and getting to work. Both clicked away, peeking at each other now and then when the other wasn't looking. On the off chance they got caught looking at each other, Axel would laugh and say he rather go to sleep or working sucks with Roxas agreeing. An hour or so had passed since the two got busy. Roxas stopped his typing and mouse clicking to stretch his limps. Axel stopped as well, watching as Roxas did so. "What is it?" Roxas questioned curiously.  

 

"I was just thinking something funny. With everything we've been through, it's kinda like we're a couple. Platonically of course but a couple nonetheless." Axel tittered, eyes staring at the suddenly blushing blond. Axel raised a brow at that but made no comment.  

 

"Weirdo." Roxas mumbled, ducked down to hide his beat red face behind his computer screen. "Your way of thinking is strange...Weirdo..."  

 

Axel snorted, "Right, I'm the weirdo." 

 

Roxas hummed, "Glad we agree on it." He laughed at the glare the redhead gave him.  

 

Another hour passed, the sun started to set and the kids wandered into the kitchen and started to whine about food. "So, what did you have in mind for dinner?" Axel asked his blond guest.    
 

Roxas just shrugged, "Pizza?"  

 

"Ohhh mushroom!" Xion cheered.  

 

"Gross! Pepperoni!" Aqua rebutted.  

 

"Cheese!" Marluxia clapped his hands in excitement from all the yelling.  

 

The grownups groaned in unison, "I can run to the store really fast and pick up things so we can make our own pizzas." Axel offered.  

 

"Well here," Roxas pulled his wallet out and handed some cash to Axel, "I promised Aqua we'd make homemade chocolate chip cookies."  

 

Axel gently pushed the offering hand away, "My treat tonight. You can get tomorrow." The redhead winked. He turned to address his kids, "I'm stepping out for a few minutes. I expect you both to behave for Roxas okay?"  

 

The two kids nodded in understanding. But an evil smirk grew on Aqua's face, "What about me?"  

 

Axel gave the girl his own wicked smile, "Give him hell kid." 

 

"Hey!" Roxas exclaimed as Axel cackled and headed toward his room to get his keys, wallet, and shoes. "Aqua don't you dare or you will be doing extra studies."  

 

"Noooo!" Aqua whined.  

 

"What’s that?" Xion asked.  

 

"Pizza!!!" Marluxia yelled.  

 

Roxas grinned, turning in his chair. "After Aqua does homework I give her my own personal homework. She has to do extra spelling words, or math problems. But I only do give it to her if she starts slacking in school or for misbehaving.” 

 

"Ewww." Xion pointed a finger at her open mouth and pretended to gag.  

 

Axel came back and stood behind the kids to ask what Roxas wanted to drink with dinner. He had also heard what the blond said about the extra homework and thought it would be a fine idea to use on Xion and Marluxia. "And here I am sending my kids to the corner or spanking them for being bad. Maybe I should just take on your teaching instead."  

 

Roxas laughed, rolling his eyes. "Spanking? You actually do that? You really are an old man Axel."  

 

Axel snorted and rolled his own eyes. "Well at least they won't end up as shitty ungrateful brats when I bring them out in public. But seen as how Aqua isn't either I may trade up for the extra homework. Anyway, Soda or punch?"  

 

"Noooo!!!" Xion yelled at the thought of more homework. She and Aqua took off to Xion's room with Marluxia raising his arms up for Axel to pick him up.  

 

"Punch if you don't mind." Roxas said getting up. "Speaking of homework, Aqua! Xion! Get your little butts back here.!" Roxas called after the girls, heading to the room.  

 

"Want to come with me?" Axel asked his youngest child as he picked him up. The child nodded and clung to the redhead. "Alrightly then. Roxas! Marly is coming with me!"  

 

"Okay!" 

 

**~X~x~X~x~**

 

Axel pushed Marly through the cart, enjoying how happy the toddler seemed to be, "Must be nice to get away from the girls huh?" Axel asked at one point.  

 

"Girls, ew." Marluxia scrunched up his face and stuck his tongue out.  

 

Axel laughed and patted the kid on the head, "Don't worry bud, you won't think like that for long." 

 

Marluxia scrunched up his face again, repeating his thoughts on the matter. Axel stopped the cart, trying to decide if he wanted pre-made sauce or to try and attempt his own. "What do you think Marly, store sauce or should we have Roxas make it?"  

 

"Roxas." Marluxia cheered though it sounded like he said rockass.  

 

"Roxas it is." Axel laughed picking up a couple of cans of tomato sauce and some spices. "Next is dough. I think I'll get the pre-made this time. This says we just have to add water, roll it in a ball and let it set before rolling it out. Easy enough, right Marly?" 

 

"Roxas!" The child cheered. His mind stuck on thoughts of his blond daddy.  

 

Axel shook his head at the kid's antics, "Yes Roxas. We'll see him soon. Oh, that reminds me he wanted to make cookies. I think we need eggs and milk."  

 

"Chocolate milk?" Marluxa cocked his head to the side as he asked for his favorite drink. 

 

Axel chuckled, patting his son's head once again. "Okay, you can have chocolate milk tonight and one cookie. I don't need you getting all hyper on me when it comes to bath time."  

 

"No bath." Marluxia pouted, kicking his legs and crossing his arms. 

 

"What if Roxas helps with it?" Axel tried to bribe his son. Marluxia seemed to consider this and nodded his head, "That's my boy. Now you think we're ready to check out or do we need anything else?" 

 

"Ass cream!" Marluxia shouted excitedly from the cart, jumping up and down in his seat, "Ass! Ass! Ass cream!" He chanted, much to Axel's cringe.  

 

"Hey buddy, let's not yell that." The redhead tried calmly and quietly to shut his kid up as old ladies glared at him. 

 

"I want ass cream!" Marluxia shouted at the top of his little lungs. Axel covered the boy's mouth, ignoring how the child licked his palm.  

 

"Marly, its ice cream not ass. can you say ice?" Axel asked as calmly as he could, slowly removing his hand.  

 

"Ace cream."  

 

"Better than what it was before." Axel sighed and quickly went to go get some ice cream which he was not giving the kids tonight. Pizza and cookies were enough to give his little monsters.  

 

With everything needed in the cart, Axel got to the checkout line, paid for his things and promptly got the hell out of the store before someone called child services on him for Marluxia now chanting 'ass cream' again. A quick and safe drive later Axel began to pull into his garage. The sound of the door raising up alerted Roxas and the girls that Axel was home. Roxas stared at the bags in the car with a raised brow but Axel simply shrugged his shoulders as they carried it all to the kitchen. 

 

"What happened to a quick stop at the store?" Roxas teased his friend while unloading things from the bags to the island's counter. 

 

"Ass cream!" Marluxia happily yelled as Axel put said 'ass cream' in the freezer.  

 

Roxas laughed, "Oh so that's what kept you."  

 

"That and I had to grab some extra things, like milk and eggs, for the cookies. I think I have everything else here." Axel explained as he gathered up the empty plastic bags and threw them into their respective bigger plastic bag that hug on the inside of the pantry. 

 

Roxas hummed unknowingly sending a small shiver down Axel's spine. The two men put anything they didn't need at the moment away. Aqua, whom was standing patently with Xion the whole time, spoke up. "Pizza time, Roxas wash your hands."  

 

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Go wash your own hands. But put your homework away first." Aqua stuck out her tongue to which Roxas stuck out his tongue.  

 

"Are you sure you guys aren't siblings?" Axel teased while going to wash his own hands.  

 

"Yeah I'm sure." Roxas laughed and waited his turn while the kids ran off to get ready for pizza time. "Though sometimes I feel like she sees me like a big brother rather than her uncle. I guess it's better than calling me dad. I don't think could handle that right now." 

 

"So she has never called you dad? Not even while you took care of her as a toddler?" Axel asked as he preheated the oven.  

 

Roxas shook some excess water off of his hands and into the sink, "Nope. I've always been Roxas. She seemed to always be able to tell the difference between Saix and I." 

 

"Saix? Was that her dad?" Axel curiously asked as he set out the pizza dough and read the instructions again to be sure of what he needed to do.  

 

Roxas hummed and noticed nothing but cans of tomato sauce. "Yeah, my brother in-law. He was such a hard ass, but a good father. Hey, where's the pizza sauce?" 

 

"Oh yeah," Axel laughed, "Marluxia wanted you to make it."  

 

"Me make it?" Roxas almost choked on his spit from shock, "What gives you any idea that I'd know how to make sauce? Because I don't." 

 

Axel smirked and pointed at Roxas’ PC. The blond stared at it and shook his head. "Oh, come on Roxas, don't be such a sour puss. You just have to look up the recipe."  

 

"Why don't you do it." Roxas scowled and crossed his arms.  

 

"Because he wants you to do it. But if you want to pout about it then I guess we can make it together." Axel laughed, ignoring Roxas flipping him off. "It says we need to let the dough set for a while so I say we take care of it first. Then the sauce and one of us has to chop some mushrooms."  

 

"I'm not pouting and anyway I'll do the damn sauce. You can do the chopping. In hindsight you could have just got frozen pizza and bought the extra toppings to put on them." Roxas went over to the table and went to work searching for the damn sauce. Meanwhile Axel stood in disbelief. The redhead felt like an idiot at how much easier that would have been.  

 

"Damn it." 

 

Roxas eventually found a recipe and Axel got the dough set aside while the two of them made the sauce. Somehow Axel got some of it on his face. Roxas had to resist the urge to lick it off of the man. Instead he busied himself with tasting their product from a spoon. The blond ended up with it on his chin to which Axel casually swiped it with his finger and licked said finger with no idea what that act made Roxas feel. The blond had to look away from the redhead.  

 

"Are you alright?" The redhead pondered aloud.  

 

"Hmmh, I'm fine. I'm going to go check on the kids." Muttered Roxas only to be stopped by a gentle hand on his shoulder.  

 

Roxas rotated, facing the redhead without meeting his piecing emerald hues. Axel frowned at that, concern for his friend. Roxas had arrived practically in tears so it would make sense for him to go back to that unstable form even while being distracted by Axel's presents. "Roxas if there's anything bothering you, you know you can let me know. Come on buddy, what's up?"  

 

Roxas raised his head to meet Axel's gaze. The blond's face went pink as emarld eyes stared down at him in concern. Roxas bit his lower lip, nervousness rushing through him. "Axel, well the thing is...I kinda, well..."  

 

"Daddy want up." Marluxia said, interrupting the two men as he stood there with his arms up.  

 

Axel chuckled, taking his hand off of Roxas and looking down at his toddler. "All right Marly."  

 

Axel bent down to pick up his kid when Marluxia exclaimed, "No, not Daddy. I want Daddy." Blue eyes stared up at Roxas, arms pointed up toward him. Roxas's breath caught in his lungs. Yes, he had been involved in the child's life, but he didn't feel like it would be enough to get a response like that from Marluxia. Panicked blue looked into green. Roxas was frozen.  

 

"Okay bud. Here you go." Axel handed his son over to the blond, "Is that the right Daddy?"  

 

Marluxia cooed in happiness as he nuzzled into Roxas's shoulder, "Yes." 

 

"What? B-b-but I'm not." Roxas stutter only to glare at Axel's amused expression. The blond puffed his cheeks a little and held Marluxia closer. "Right. Hey Marly, who is your favorite Daddy?"  

 

"Roxas!" Marluxia giggled, hugging and nuzzling against the blond.  

 

Axel's jaw fell slack as the child didn't hesitate to answer whatsoever. He felt hurt if he was going to be honest about the situation. The smug look on Roxas was enough for Axel to pull himself together and pretend he wasn't bothered by it. "But Marly, Roxas is actually a mommy, not a daddy." Axel smirked.  

 

"Mommy?" Marluxia questioned, eyes gazing up at Axel and then to the flabbergasted blond. 

 

"No-"  

 

"That's right Marly, Mommy." Axel interjected Roxas denial with a curt nod. 

 

Innocent blue eyes looked at Roxas, almost like Marluxia was inspecting the blond. He had blue eyes but where was the green? Where was the brown hair and the pillows on his chest? Marluxia's eyes began to fill with tears. The man holding him looked nothing like..."M-mommy!" The toddler began to wail.  

 

Roxas jumped at the sudden yell and cries. His fight-or-flight instincts kicked in and they were screaming flight as he handed Marluxia back to his, freaked out, real daddy. Axel tried to calm his son down only to get more cries and a bit of snot running down Marluxia’s red nose as he cried and called out for his mother. The howls soon got the attention of Aqua and Xion whom were now in the kitchen. Axel was quick on his feet, taking Marluxia out of the room before he could say "Mommy" again least he gets the girl's upset.  

 

"Marly please don't cry. Daddy didn't mean it. Roxas is a daddy not a mommy." Axel apologized, cradling his boy in his arms while he sat on his bed with the door shut.  

 

"Mommy!!! I want Mommy!!!" The toddler repeated, eyes clouded over with tears. Axel took some tissue and wiped at his eyes and nose to no avail. The boy kept on crying.  

 

"Shh, Marly please. Daddy's here, shh. Daddy's got you Marluxia. Everything will be okay." Axel cooed, gently rocking the boy. 

 

"Want Mommy!" The toddler's cries started to turn into frustration as his needs weren't met. "Mommy!"  

 

Axel wanted to reassure his child and say his mother would be back soon, but it had already been two months with no contact from the woman. The longer she stayed gone to less hopeful Axel felt about her return.  Heartbroken from the thought of Yuna not coming back, Axel cradled Marluxia closer to his chest. How could a mother do this to her kids? "Daddy and Daddy are here for you now Marly. We'll always love you and be here to support you." 

 

"Mommy." Marluxia shoved himself away from Axel though still trapped in his arms. "No want Daddy, want Mommy." The boy sniffled, looking around the familiar room that belonged to his parents. "Mommy!!! Where Mommy!! Mommy!...hic Mommy..."  

 

Axel felt his eyes prick at Marluxia's sudden realization of being abandoned. The child began to cry again only this time he clung to his father as tightly as his little arms could. He had not seen his mother for so long but to him it felt like years. Though what was a year to someone who had no concept of time just yet? Days, weeks, months, years, they were nothing to him, but in that moment Marluxia knew it was a really really really long time.  

 

"Daddy's here Marly. Daddy will always be here." Axel told his son, silently crying himself. And as Marluxia continued to cry, Axel refused to let him go or hush him again. He held him only trying to comfort and reassure the child that he loved him and would never go away. 

 

Down the hall, passed the living room, and into the kitchen, Roxas had music playing to distract the girls from the wails that was Marluxia. Together, the three of them decided to make everyone's pizza so that when Axel came out again, he only needed to eat, drink, and be gay. At least that's what they hoped for anyway. 

 

"No Xion! You're going to eat them all and there won't be enough!" Aqua yelled as Xion ate another pepperoni.  

 

Roxas sighed at the mindless bickering. It wasn't bad enough to break them apart or intervene, but the blond wished they would stop. He was worrying about Axel and Marluxia. The two had been gone for a long time, and Roxas couldn't help but feel like the toddler's melt down was his fault.  

 

"Roxas my pizza's done. Can we put them in the oven now?" Xion asked as she showed the adult her pizza. Roxas finally smiled at it. The girl had used the toppings to make a smiley face and extra cheese as hair. Aqua had cut her pepperonis into little hearts. His girls sure were the creative type. 

 

Roxas took the girl's pizzas and stuck them on the cookie sheet with the other three. The blond opened the oven up and placed the food on the rack, closing the oven right up. Aqua and Xion stared in aw, wanting to watch the pizzas cook. Roxas, however, told the girls to stay out of the kitchen and go play or watch TV while he checked on Axel. The girls agreed with a pout and ran off to watch Moana.  

 

Roxas patted their heads as he passed on to the hall and toward Axel's room after not finding the two in Marluxia's. "Axel?" Roxas knocked on the door. "Axel is everything okay?" The blond asked, knocking once more. With no response Roxas took it upon himself to open the bedroom door to check if Axel was even in there. What he found melted his heart. His redheaded friend was sleeping with Marluxia right on his chest, eyes shut with dried tears on both their cheeks. "That bad huh?" Roxas said to himself, walking over to cover them with the blanket that was for some reason on the ground. Roxas figured Axel wasn't one for making his bed.  

 

Come to think of it, Roxas had never really seen Axel's room let alone been in it. The blond took that opportunity to look around while he could. "What a mess." He said aloud as there were clothes, beer cans, and trash on the ground. Two sets of dressers on either side of the bed, one belonging to Axel the other...Roxas promptly left the room feeling bitter. He immediately began to resent Axel's wife, Yuna. He wasn't sure if it was because he was jealous, or just pissed at how she was making her family hurt without a care in the world. Roxas chose the latter of the two. "Bitch." He spat once he got back to the kitchen and checked on the pizzas. 

 

The dough still looked too soft to justify the food being done, so Roxas decided to go sit in the living room to watch the movie with the two girls who were singing along with the movie’s characters. The blond's butt wasn't even on the couch yet before the girls decided they had to sit on either side of him and demanded cuddles, "So what's going on?" Roxas asked as he rubbed circles into the girls' backs. As he watched the main character sing about wanting to leave her small island.    
 

"Moana wants to go out and explore but her mean daddy won't let her." Aqua explained.  

 

"He probably just wants her to be safe." Roxas rebutted, "You're not allowed to leave me and journey across the ocean, missy," the blond told Aqua as he poked her in the side, making the girl giggle. 

 

"What about me?" Xion asked with a smile.  

 

"You can't go either. You need to take care of your daddy and brother. They'd be lost without you." Roxas poked Xion's nose causing the girl to giggle as well.   
 

"But...but...What if we had to go across the ocean to save the world like Moana?" Aqua bounced in her seat from excitement from just thinking about a journey like that.    
 

Roxas crossed his arm in thought, "Hmm....only if you two stick together and call me every two hours so I know you're alright."  

 

Both girls pouted at that, "But there's no phones in the middle of the ocean." Xion said.  

 

"Guess you're not going then." 

 

"Roxas is a meanie." Aqua whined.  

 

"Just like Moana's daddy." Xion agreed.  

 

"Okay okay, you can go but Marluxia goes with you." Roxas sighed.  

 

The girls looked at each other and then remembered dirty diapers and the crying. "No thank you." They said in unison. 

 

Roxas laughed and got up. "I'm going to go check on those pizzas. You two be good and remember, no sailing way."  

 

"We won't."  

 

Roxas found himself once again in the kitchen. The blond checked on the pizzas and smiled to himself. Finally, he could take them out and feed the children. The blond did just that as soon as the food cooled down enough for Aqua and Xion to eat. Leaving them to their enjoyment, Roxas went back to Axel's room where the man was still sleeping.There he found Marluxia sitting up awake looking around the room. Roxas paused in his steps, fearing that the toddler would cry if he noticed him. "Daddy?" Marluxia whined, extending his arms out for Roxas to pick him up.  

 

"Hey little man, are you hungry?" Roxas softly asked, scooping the child into his arms as Marluxia nodded.. Axel could wait a minute more in his dream land as filling the child’s stomach came first. Marluxia was sat in his chair and soon he had his food in his hands and in his tiny mouth. "Okay, keep an eye on your brother while I go wake your dad."  

 

"Daddy." Marluxia whined.  

 

Roxas paused, smiling sheepishly. "Yes?"  

 

"Wuv Daddy." Marluxia smiled.  

 

"That's not Daddy, Marly. That's Roxas." Xion giggled.  

 

"No is Daddy." Marluxia fought back.  

 

"Ewww." Aqua faked gagged. 

 

"Not Daddy."  

 

"Is Daddy!"  

 

Roxas groaned and walked away. he was not going to deal with this alone. The blond sauntered into Axel's room finding the man still asleep. "Axel, wake up." Roxas shook the man and was meet with a groan and a hand waving him off. Roxas rolled his eyes, shaking Axel again. "Hey, come on wake up now. The kids are eating dinner and you need to eat too." Axel ignored the blond in favor of sleeping longer. That didn't sit too well with Roxas. "Damn it, Axel wake up." He shook Axel one last time only to have the redhead pull him against his body onto the bed. Roxas felt his heart rate pick up along with something stirring down south.  

 

"Axel." Roxas whispered, a little afraid to move. Was he really that in need to have sex that just being in Axel's arms aroused him? Roxas made a mental note to go clubbing as soon as he could or he might end up jumping the man. "Axel, wake up and let me go."  

 

"Roxas?" Axel opened his eyes and yawned. He stared at the blond on top of him, feeling something poking his own crotch. "What are you doing?" Axel loosened his grip on the bond and in one swift movement Roxas got off of Axel, moaning in the process from the friction. Axel stared at Roxas bugged eyed. That was one way to wake the redhead.  

 

Roxas sat on the bed, face completely red. His own eyes were just as wide as Axel's were. His body felt hot and shook with nervous embarrassment. He was starting to think he should just go home and fight whomever was stalking him, if he had one anyway. "Oh fuck." 

 

Axel fully sat up and couldn't get rid of the amused smile on his face, "So that was your plan. Say someone's stalking you so you can get into my house and molest me." The man tried not to laugh at poor Roxas' embarrassment.  

 

"Dinners ready." The blond quickly said before disappearing out of the door and making his way down the hall, completely missing how Axel shifted in his seat in an attempt to hide his bulge concealed in his sweatpants.   
   
As quickly as the blond was gone, Axel’s grin fell. “It was just an accident and nothing more. It means nothing. Everything will be fine and you are feeling anything.” He breath, trying his best to get rid of the nauseating feeling in his gut. 

 

Roxas had fixed his and Axel's dinners on plates and poured them drinks the moment he was back in the kitchen. "Roxas," Aqua called from the table.  

 

Roxas gave the girl his attention and frowned at her concerned expression, "If Marly and Xion can call you daddy then what do I call you? You're my uncle, not daddy. But you take care of me and I live with you." Roxas couldn't help but feel for the poor distressed girl. 

 

"Aqua, you can call me whatever makes you comfortable. You can call me Dad, you can Roxas, you call me Uncle for all I care. Whatever it is I'll be happy if you're happy. "The blond pecked Aqua's cheek to which she giggled.  

 

"Daddy." Cooed Marluxia, "Chocolate milk."  

 

"Marly, Roxas is not Daddy." Xion whined, "Right Daddy, I mean Roxas."  

 

Roxas lightly laughed, glad to have a change of atmosphere. He got up and poured some more milk for Marluxia and patted Xion's head. "The same goes for you missy. You can call me Roxas or whatever, okay?" 

 

"Okay." Xion giggled.  

 

"Dinner smells great." Axel announced his presence, taking a seat next to Roxas, both men feeling awkward to be next to each other. "Thanks, Roxas." Axel took a bite of his pizza, doing anything to seem like nothing had happened. "So, when are you and Aqua going to make those cookies." He laughed.  

 

"Cookies!!" Aqua yelled. "Can we do it now?"  

 

Roxas poked Aqua's cheek. "Let me finish eating first you hyper chipmunk.” 

 


End file.
